Call processing system with call screening

ABSTRACT

A system is described in which call processing considers unique information about the call to better serve the caller and/or to enable the called party to more efficiently handle the call. In one embodiment, the unique information considered by the call processor is information indicator digits, which may indicate to the called party whether to accept the call before the voice portion of the call is initiated.

This application is a continuation application under 37 C.F.R. §1.60 ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/181,107 filed Oct. 28, 1998 now U.S.Pat. No. 6,188,751, which was a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/633,507filed Apr. 17, 1996 and is now U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,562.

The present invention relates generally to the science oftelecommunications. Particularly, the present invention relates to asystem for providing screening information about the calling partyand/or call origination party. The system uses enhanced networkinformation and/or switch information to select a multi-input template.The enhanced network information and/or switch information in manyinstances nullifies the importance or relevance of Calling Number (ANI)and Dialed Number (DNIS) in a call processing environment.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

For many years the telephone system in general has known certaininformation about the phone from which a call has been made. Forexample, the telephone system has known what area code the call wasplaced from, the long distance carrier of the phone call, and even theapproximate geographic location for a non-mobile phone based on thefirst six digits of the caller's number. This geographic informationcomes from the Local Exchange Routing Guide of Bell Core (LERG).However, in reality, the extent of information that has been collectedto date about a calling party by the telephone system is quite low. Forexample, consider a home in which two or more people reside. If a callis placed from that home there is no way of knowing, as the call ishandled by the telephone system, who is making the call. The only thingthe telephone system may know is the approximate geographic location ofa non-mobile phone and the calling number. The call may even have beenplaced by a visitor to the home.

The examples of lack of knowledge about the calling party quickly expandwhen one considers phone calls originating from institutions (forexample, hotels, hospitals, airports, offices, prisons, universities,etc.). Then consider mobile phones, Personal Communication System (PCS)Service, air phones, maritime phones, and cellular phones, and it soonbecomes apparent how little information is really known about a callingparty. A public phone (such as a pay phone) in a lobby of aninstitution, provides little if any information about the calling partyespecially if the calling party is paying cash for the call.

Businesses have attempted to learn more about a calling party by askingquestions of the calling party when their call is received. For example,a rental car company receives a call from a person wanting to rent acar. A live attendant for the rental car company will collectinformation about the call by asking several questions. Consider thatthe caller is likely to have rented a car previously from the samecompany. There should be no need to have to re-ask all of the samequestions every time the same caller wants to rent a car. The presentinvention provides a solution to this and related problems oftelecommunications.

The telephone system has evolved to include limited standardidentification information about the calling phone (calling numberand/or ANI) and the phone that was called (dialed n-umber and/or DNIS).This information is primarily obtained from the telephone number fromwhich the phone call was placed and the telephone number that was dialedby the caller. The telephone system has recognized these two numbers asbasic information sources (for routing calls and for billing purposesfor example) and has developed a system of standards for the datacharacter fields these numbers are to fill.

The following background information will better explain these standardsof limited phone identification used today by the current callprocessing systems, Interactive Voice Response Systems (IVR), andtelephone systems of the United States and foreign countries.

Automatic Number Identification (ANI): ANI is a basic element oftelephone calls transported throughout the public and private telephonenetworks. For the North America Numbering Plan (NANP), ANI is currently10 digits long. ANI is used extensively for call routing, call billing,call tracking, and call identification.

Call routing has been based on ANI: area code routing based on thecalling phone number is a common feature found in most long distancetelephone networks. Based on the calling party number (ANI), the callcan be routed and/or receive special treatment through use of databases,computer processors attached to and/or available to the telephoneswitches, the phone network, and equipment. Some Interexchange Carriers(IXC's) (such as AT&T, MCI, Sprint, etc.) and Local Exchange Companies(LEC's) (such as Ameritech) provide many enhanced forms of call routingusually based on the first 3 or more ANI digits.

Call routing based on the first 3 ANI digits is usually referred to asArea Code Routing. For example, if the calling number ANI was614-847-6161, then Area Code Routing would consider the “614” part ofthe ANI and route the Ohio originated call using the “614” as the broadgeographic data element to start the routing routines and calculations,based on the routing rules and other factors (time of day, day of week,percent allocation, etc.).

Call Routing based on more than the first 3 ANI digits allows for moregeographic precision. Most ANI's have a geographic relationship. LERGgives the approximate longitude and latitude for the area code/exchange(as well as other data contained in the LERG) represented by the first 6digits of the ANI. For example, for the calling number 614-847-6161 the“614-847” component has the geographic representation of Ohio and themetropolitan area of North Columbus/Worthington.

Area-Code-Exchange (NPA-NXX): The Area-Code-Exchange (NPA-NXX) routingability gives even greater routing definition for the calling party(ANI). If a caller to an 800 number with an ANI of “614-847-6161” was inneed of being connected to a towing service, then the geographicallyclosest towing service might be identified to handle the towing job (ata shorter travel time and possible lower cost). Call routing can bebased on the first 6 ANI digits or more. In fact, call routing can beextended to the first 7, 8, 9, or 10 digits and can even focus on asingle calling telephone number. For example, calls originating from“614-847-6161” could be assigned to a specific travel department withina company. The caller with that ANI could be routed by the telephonenetwork to a certain group that always handles that caller when he dialsthe local, 800, 500, or other number of a travel agency which routescalls using ANI. In this case, a specific ANI or set of ANI's is given adefined routing algorithm, or treatment, when recognized by acontrolling network to route the call based on ANI or a group of ANI's.

ANI used as a billing number and geographic representation: ANI (as aterm) is used, quite often interchangeably, for both the calloriginating billing number and/or the line number for the originatingend of a call. For a location that has only one telephone line and onenumber (such as a residence with only one line), ANI usually refers toboth the calling line and the billing number.

For a multi-line location (such as a business or residence with 2 ormore lines), a PBX (Private Branch Exchange, a location's switch), orCentrex (where the local telephone company's switch or a separate switchacts as a PBX), the billing number or the lead number may be presentedby the public telephone network as the ANI for the actual line used toplace the call. For example, for a multi-line location such as abusiness, the public telephone network may present all the out-boundcalls with the same ANI as the billing ANI even though multiple linesare in use, each with their own assigned line ANI and most of which aredifferent than the billing ANI. The billing ANI is usually a goodgeographic representation of the non-mobile caller and usuallyrepresents the responsible (billing) party for the call (or one ofthem). However, in some cases, the billing ANI may not represent theactual ANI (or line number) of the call. In other cases, the billing ANImay not be presented and the line number ANI is presented instead. Inany case, the line ANI or billing ANI do not define 100% of the time whois calling or why they are calling.

ANI is not always a good geographic representation: for example, when acall is routed through a private network before it reaches the “PublicTelephone Network”, the ANI may have no relationship with the physicallocation or approximate identity of the caller. If the caller at onelocation calls through a tie line or on a “Private Network” to anotherlocation and then access the Public Network from the second location,the call will probably be identified by an ANI based on the point atwhich the call entered the Public Telephone Network of the secondlocation. For example, if a caller in Columbus, Ohio accesses a switchin New York City through a private network and then accesses dial toneto reach the Public Telephone Network through the New York City switch,the ANI for the call will most likely be a New York City ANI and thebill will be based on the New York City ANI (distance, identification,location, bill to, etc.)

Billing based on ANI: the caller's ANI (billing number and/or linenumber) is directly used for billing of calls dialed to:

900 access code type calls (e.g., 1-900-WEATHER);

-   -   500 access code type calls (e.g., 1-500 personal communications        which currently can be billed to the caller);

10XXX access code type calls (e.g., 10288 where the caller dials anaccess code to reach a carrier and then dials a number);

1+ long distance number type calls per the caller's prescribed carrier;and

411, 1-555-1212 and many other access codes, methods and applications.

The caller's ANI is indirectly (and sometimes directly) used as part ofthe billing equation for calls where the Dialed Number pays for thecall:

collect calls;

1-500 (depending on features);

1-700 (depending on features);

1-800 (e.g., 1-800-SCHERER); and

other access methods, codes and applications where the ANI is used, butthe caller is not billed for the call (1-800-COLLECT, 1-800-CALL ATT,etc.).

For 1-800 access code calls, the caller's originating ANI is used tocontrol some of the billing decisions—for example:

-   -   Intra-state;    -   Inter-state;    -   origination from a different country or island (e.g., calls from        Canada);    -   time zones; and    -   mileage between calling parties and mileage bands.

1-800 access service was introduced by AT&T around 1967. From that timeon, the caller's originating ANI became an integral part of the billing,routing, and call detail. 1-900, 411, and other pay-per-call numbershave also been around for 15 or more years and use the caller'soriginating ANI for part of the billing and routing equation.

Call tracking: ANI, along with Dialed Number including date and time,may be used as an approximation to track calls. However, if two callersdial from a PBX with a common billing ANI at the same time to the samemulti-line location and both callers hang up at the same time, 2 callrecords will be created that look the same (even though there were 2calls). Caller ANI, even with Dialed Number, date, time, and duration,do not provide exclusive call tracking, nor specific information aboutwho was calling.

Presentation of network data and/or switch data: most advanced PBX's,ACDs (Automated Call Distributors), network transferring features (suchas AT&T's Transfer Connect), PBX call transferring, and other forms ofcall switching and call transferring preserve and transfer the caller'sANI (if possible) in the transfer of a call. This is done to preservethis piece of network provided data to the next call location, in anattempt to better serve the caller, and to help identify the caller forbilling purposes. ANI preservation and passing has been a feature ofComputer-Technology Integration to manage calls.

Caller ID (ANI): one of the most widespread and well-known uses of thecaller's ANI is Caller ID (Caller Identification). The concept of CallerID is to pass on to the recipient of the call the ANI of the callerbefore the call is answered. ANI has been a key component of ISDN(Integrated Services Digital Network) defined by the CCITT in the1970's. The caller's ANI has traveled the phone network since the1970's, if not earlier, in the form of two products:

-   -   1) 1-800 Access Type Service; and    -   2) Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN Service).

Many companies, businesses, and individuals use ISDN, digital access,and/or Caller ID to get certain data elements of the call—one of whichis caller ANI. Despite the benefits of ANI, caller ANI does not definethe actual calling person. It does not indicate why the caller iscalling.

The ANI of the caller is preserved and passed on as the call passesthrough the Public Telephone Network (and usually the Private TelephoneNetwork, if possible). For example, the caller ANI may traverse throughthe LEC, IXC, CAP (Competitive Access Provider), PBX, ACD, Agent and soforth, so the final recipient receives the caller's ANI (i.e., callerID).

Dialed Number: Dialed Number is the number that the caller dialed.Dialed Number, like ANI, must comply with the North America NumberingPlan (NANP) and the CCITT International Standards if the call is tooriginate and use the public switched telephone network of the U.S.A.,Canada, North American (NANP) and international locations. Examples are:

847-6161 7 digit dialing within the Local Access and Transport Area(LATA) where the area code is assumed to be the same as the local areacode (i.e.: 614). With multiple area codes for the same LATA coming intoexistence, 7 digit dialing will be phased out in some areas to 10 digitdialing. 809-776-8500 These are examples of 10 digit dialing geographic614-847-6161 numbers. The 809-776 indicates a phone number in St.Thomas, a U.S. Virgin Island. 1-800-356-6161 These are all examples ofnon-geographic routing 1-900-932-8437 numbers where the carrier and/ortelephone network 1-500-422-7537 that has handled the call checks adatabase for the 1-700-328-5000 designated termination and associatedrouting. 911 These are examples of local special purpose Dialed 411Numbers that again have specific routing and “0” geographic assumptions.011-44 International Dialed Numbers that start with 011-72 internationalaccess, country code, and then the number (city, line, etc.) in thedesignated country.

For North America and the countries (including the U.S.A.) which areusing the NANP, the public switched telephone network requires theDialed Number to conform to the NANP. The Dialed Number is passed on toeach successive party of the transport of the call(LEC-IXC-LEC-PBX-ACD—etc.) so the call can go through the telephonenetwork ultimately being routed to the intended destination and for callaccounting purposes.

Dialed Number and DNIS: the Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS)is a shortened presentation form representing the Dialed Number. Whenthe incoming call is terminated on digital access (and other forms ofspecial access), the transport provider will usually offer DNIS to helpidentify what number was dialed for an incoming call, to the targettelephone equipment and location. If the Dialed Number was, for example,1-800-356-6161, then 6161 may be sent with the call presentation toreflect the 10 digit number dialed to give special treatment, routing,and information for the incoming call. The DNIS assigned could be from 1to 10 digits or more (but usually not more than 10) and does not have tobe the same as, or part of, the Dialed Number. In the above example, forthe 800 number 1-800-356-6161, the DNIS could be, for example, “100” or“2” or the number itself.

Uses of DNIS: a common use of DNIS, besides representing the DialedNumber, is to aid in routing the calls within the telephone equipment somultiple different Dialed Numbers can share a common access trunk groupand a common routing and still receive selective routing and uniqueaudiotext greetings and selective handling. For example, within abusiness one 1-800 number may route to sales while a different 1-800number for the same company routes to customer, service, but calls toboth numbers share the same or parts of the same trunk group to improvenetwork access, switch and telephone equipment utilization.

Geographic Dialed Numbers: for the traditional geographic DialedNumbers, such as 411, 911, 614-847-6161, the public switched networkwill attempt to deliver the call to a primary location, and if the localphone company and/or the IXC offers advanced features (Call Forward onBusy, Call Forwarding, Call Forward on Ring No Answer, and otherpossible static and dynamic delivery options), the call can have special“pre-designated routings” that are mostly static in nature.

Non-geographic Dialed Number: for non-geographic Dialed Numbers, such as1-800, 1-900, 1-500 (PCS Follow Me), Cellular, and other non-geographicDialed Numbers, the routing is controlled by the local access provider(LEC) accessing local databases to hand the call to the appropriate IXC(interexchange carrier) for providing inter-LATA (and intra-LATA)services and network routing. It utilizes the traditional publictelephone network supplied ANI plus Dialed Number(s) as key dataelements.

Network data and/or switch data: in both cases (geographic andnon-geographic Dialed Numbers), the telephone network currently uses thepublic network supplied ANI and/or Dialed Number to determine callrouting and special call treatment. Both the ANI and Dialed Numbers arefixed or static in nature, and are located in pre-designated fields ofthe actual call data. The USA Network and Many International TelephoneNetworks Support CCS7 Signaling.

Network data and/or switch data flows over a separate signaling network:a CCS7 (Common Channel Signaling 7) network consists of nodes calledSignaling Points (SP's). Unique point codes for each network SP serve asthe address for message distribution. A typical CCS7 network (asreferenced in FIG. 7 herein), has three key nodes:

a Service Switching Point (SSP) capability at a central office providesCCS7 trunk signaling and/or queries a database to determine callrouting;

Service Control Point (SCP) houses a database with the routinginformation used by network SSPs; and

a Signaling Transfer Point (STP) provides routing capabilities for CCS7messages between CCS7 nodes.

The North American network is based on the basic “Mesh” structure. Thisstructure is sometimes referred to as the “Quad” structure.

The hub of the network is STP pairs. These are two separate STP nodesoperating together in a logical arrangement for redundancy.

The Signaling Links can be categorized into several types depending onthe functions being performed. However, regardless of the function beingperformed, all Signaling Links operate in the same manner and have thesame technical requirements.

A-Links (Access Links) are used to allow SSPs, SCPs and SPs to connectSTP nodes. B-Links (Bridge Links) are used to join mated STP pairs toother mated STP pairs. These Links form the Quad structure, which willprovide complete STP redundancy.

C-Links (Cross Links) are used to interconnect two STP nodes, in orderto create an STP pair.

D-Links (Diagonal Links) interconnect primary and secondary SignalTransfer Point pairs. They provide communication between pairs and serveas an alternate routing path. A two level hierarchy is an extension ofthe basic mesh structure.

Some networks, typically those with high levels of sub-network trafficvolume, may require another level of STP pairs. This Primary level ofthe STP architecture would also be a convenient place to bridgesignaling boundaries (i.e. from one operating region to another). MostCCS7 nodes will be connected to the network at Secondary level STPpairs, except SCPs may be connected at the Primary level.

D-Links (Diagonal Links) are used to form connections between Secondarylevel mated STP pairs and Primary level mated STP pairs. This forms aQuad structure as well.

The CCS7, SS7, ISDN networks have predefined fields that contain:

-   -   1) The Dialed Number;    -   2) The Calling Number; and    -   3) Enhanced Data About the Call.

This network call data travels through the signaling network andrepresents the call and is presented to the call processor as the IAM(Initial Address Message) that defines the in-bound call to the callprocessor as part of ISDN, SS7 and CCS7 messages.

Private networks (on-net): “On Net”, a Private Virtual Network term,represents a dialing plan that may or may not conform to the publicswitched network. AT&T in about 1985 introduced its Software DefinedNetwork (“SDN”). MCI offers Virtual Private Network (“VPN”) and othersoffer private dialing plans (e.g., switch to switch) that may notconform to the public network. These private telephone networks areunder computer control with access to databases so as to receive callsover dedicated and special access lines or trunks and may use unique“Dialed Numbers” that may look like public Dialed Numbers. The privatenumbers are translated and routed differently (or can be routed thesame) as the public network. For example, dialing 1-614-847-6161 on aprivate telephone network could ring to a phone in New York City (oranywhere) instead of the expected geographic location of the Columbusarea in Ohio.

New network data and/or switch data elements—II digits: InformationIndicator Digits, (also referred to as “II digits” “info-indicatordigits”, info-indicator (II) digits, and/or ANI Information Digit Codes)Bellcore Local Exchange Routing Guide, Dec. 1, 1995, Section 1, Page 168(1.8 Automatic Number Identification (ANI) Information Digits Codes) aretwo-digit codes which precede the 7 or 10 digit number of the callingline (ANI) and inform the users of Network Information, the local LEC,Interexchange Carriers and others about the “type of line” that isoriginating the call, any special characteristics of the billing number(ANI) and/or certain classes of services. The two-digit II digit codesare part of the signaling protocol generated in equal access offices,which represents approximately 99% of all public U.S.A. calls by January1996 (calls that originate by accessing a local phone company accessline such as 1-800 type calls for the U.S.A.) (See FIG. 8). The IIdigits provided information about the ANI to aid in special routing andbilling decisions regarding the ANI for those parties that may handlethe call. II digits are designed to help define the “type” of line theANI represents that is placing the call. II digits are assigned by theNANP Administrator, at Bell Communications Research, Inc. (Bellcore)based on the telephone industry's needs to classify types of callorigination for specific applications and needs. Some of the key IIdigits codes (00–99) are as follows:

Code 00—Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS)—non-coin service (not a payphone), no special treatment required, (an unrestricted line).

Code 01—Multiparty Line (more than 2) the ANI does not really reflectthe calling party, the party will need to be queried to determine thereal calling number (ANI).

Code 02—ANI failure, the calling station has not been identified, thecalling party will need to be queried to determine the real callingnumber (ANI).

Code 06—The call is coming from a multi-station location such as a hotelor motel and the IAM does not include the room number or account numberof the caller, just the hotel/motel's ANI.

Code 07—Special Operator Handling Required—Calls from “07” requirefurther operator screening to check to see if the call is allowed.

Code 20—When a call originates from a PBX and the main billing number isbeing sent as the ANI instead of the individual line number, II digitcode 20 is sent with the ANI.

Code 23—Gateway type calls, where the ANI being sent does not representthe real calling line number, such as:

-   -   non-equal access end offices    -   0-800 (data base access)    -   Type 1 cellular calls (identifies the cellular system—not the        caller)    -   calls from PBX trunks    -   calls from Centrex tie lines        Code 27—Coin or pay phone.

Code 29—Prison/inmate service—a confinement/detention facility; wherecalls must be screened for outward calling use and only collect billingis allowed. (ANI of caller can not be billed).

Code 30—Unassigned calling ANI.

Code 31—ANI that has been manually placed in trouble-busy state by Telcopersonnel.

Code 34—Telephone operator handled call, the call has been handled by anoperator prior to reaching the called party. (For example: caller couldnot get through, required operator assistance).

Code 52—Outwats calls limited to certain zone(s) or band(s) on a specialbilling arrangement.

Code 60—The call is a TRS call that came from an unrestricted line andthe ANI represents the billing line.

Code 61—Cellular/wireless PCS (Type 1)—The ANI represents the system,not the mobile directory (Caller's number) placing the call.

Code 62—Cellular/wireless PCS (Type 2)—The ANI does represent thecaller's number (mobile directory number) placing the call, but the ANIdoes not represent the true geographic location of the caller (thecaller is in their home zone (extended)).

Code 63—Cellular/wireless PCS (roaming)—The ANI identifies the mobiledirectory number (Calling Number) but not the geographic location (sincethe Caller is roaming).

Code 66—Call originated from a hotel/motel through use of a TRSprovider.

Code 67—Call originated through use of a TRS provider and the ANI isrestricted (such as a pay phone).

Code 70—ANI is that of a private pay station (coin and/or coinless), forexample Public Access Line (PAL), Customer Owned Coin Operated PayTelephone (COCOT), etc.

Code 93—Call originated (ANI) from a Virtual Network type of service(such as an IXC Calling Card), no real knowledge on the ANI.

As it can readily be seen, the II digits provide a wealth of knowledgeabout the calling line before, during, and after the call is answered.The II code of “00” represents an unrestricted home or small business(no PBX); while “29” represents a prison/inmate facility; while “27” isa coin/pay phone; etc.

The II digits are presented with the other network data and/or switchdata through use of ISDN and/or SS7 signaling and/or can be provided aspart of the inband data stream where available.

Database data about ANI, provided by the LERG: “NPA-NXX Type”—LERGreports on how and where the first 6 digits of the 10 digit NorthAmerican Numbering Plan will be used and how it will be assigned by BellCore. For example:

614-847-XX Represents Plain Old Telephone Service and/or business linewith a geographic location of Columbus, Ohio.

614-755-XXXX Represents a pager exchange assigned to the Columbus, Ohioarea (ignoring roaming).

614-361-XXXX Represents a cellular phone exchange assigned to theColumbus area (ignoring roaming).

The first 6 digits of the 10 digit NANP is usually referred to as anexchange, of which there are tens of thousands that have been assignedand/or issued by Bellcore as part of the NANP. Each exchange is alsoassigned a category or “NPA-NXX Type” such that all 10,000 numbers ofthe exchange have the same type usage.

In the Pager Example:

614-755-XXXX Represents an exchange or NPA-NXX (614-755) such that all10,000 numbers having this prefix have been assigned for use as pagers.

The number ranges (614-755-0000 through 614-755-9999) or all 10,000numbers are reserved for paging. If the exchange 614-755 is checked inthe LERG “NXX Type” the value of “02” will be found “fully dedicated topaging”.

Some more important examples of the “NXX Type” as defined by the LERGfor entire exchanges are:

-   -   NXX-Type Code 00—Regular (Plain Old Telephone Service) POTS    -   NXX-Type Code 01—Mobile (Improved Mobile Telephone Service) IMTS    -   NXX-Type Code 02—Fully dedicated to paging    -   NXX-Type Code 04—Fully dedicated to cellular    -   NXX-Type Code 06—Maritime (Ship to shore, ship to ship)    -   NXX-Type Code 07—Air to ground    -   NXX-Type Code 10—Called party pays    -   NXX-Type Code 14—Special calling cards    -   NXX-Type Code 16—Originating only (can not receive calls)    -   NXX-Type Code 64—Personal Communications Services (PCS)    -   NXX-Type Code 88—Toll station—ring down

Many of the codes not listed above (but all are included in the attachedLERG reference) are related to special mobile, paging and cellular andLATA limitations.

Given the first 6 digits of the calling number (ANI), and with the“NPA-NXX Type” classification provided by the LERG reference, the basicphone classification can quickly be determined, for example:

-   -   07=Air to ground    -   00=Plain business/residential    -   04=Dedicated to cellular

Sometimes the Dialed Number is all that is needed as the unique key toinformation: in Columbus, Ohio, since about 1985 the city trashcollection has divided the city into 5 colors. When you move into aresidence in Columbus, Ohio, you learn your trash color. Each trashcolor has a unique phone number to call to learn when your color's trashwill be picked up. Because of snow, cold days (below zero), andholidays, the status of trash pickup changes daily. For a GOLD codedtrash customer to find out the current status, they call 614-645-GOLD,and the PINK coded customers call 614-645-PINK, etc. The city ofColumbus uses the dialed number to deliver current status of trashpickup, to the 5 subsets of the City's residences. (614-645-RUBY, PINK,GOLD, GRAY, NAVY).

LEC database about ANI on-line (LIDB): all of the local phone companiesparticipate in a U.S.A. and Canadian database called LIDB (LineInformation Database). LIDB represents virtually all phones in theU.S.A. and Canada for the reasons listed below. LIDB is really acollection of large LEC's (such as GTE), regional Bell operatingcompanies (such as NYNEX) and a few centralized databases (such as ITN,etc.) who represent large groups of small phone companies. Companiessuch as Card-Tel provide coordinated access to these sub-sets of LIDBthat provide a uniform access method and a uniform response back fromthe LIDB databases. The maximum response time to a LIDB inquiry isusually less than 1.0 seconds, and this inquiry is based on the “ANI” ofthe Caller and/or can also be the Dialed Number if the Dialed Number isalso a POTS' (Plain Old Telephone Service) number.

A new feature of Caller ID in the December, 1995 time frame is theCaller's name as it would appear on the phone bill. The Caller's namealong with the Caller's phone number (calling from number—ANI) ispresented to the called number as part of Caller ID.

The Caller's name is now available (on a national schedule) as a newfeature of LIDB for all POTS lines and other lines (business, hotel,motel, residential, unlisted, pay phone, etc.) for all of the U.S.A. andCanada.

The Caller's name is available, even if the Caller's line (ANI) isunlisted or unpublished through the use of LIDB. Whether the Caller'sname can be given out for display on a phone involves intrastate andinterstate privacy laws and codes.

In many cases, ANI must be checked to restrict services: the ANI of theCaller also determines the Local Exchange Company (LEC) assigned to theANI. Currently, exchanges are assigned to a LEC, usually in wholeblocks, such that for the 10,000 number exchange 614-847-XXXX, all10,000 numbers (614-847-0000 to 614-847-9999) are assigned to Ohio Bellof Ameritech for assignment to customers, routing to the end phoneand/or device (phone, pager, PCS, etc.) and billing to the customer forusage changes (1+ calling, international calling, 411 calling, 1-900calling, etc.).

To provide enhanced and/or standard local and long distance phoneservice, the ANI must be a billable ANI. Some normal ways of checkingfor a billable ANI are:

1) Based on LIDB, is the ANI valid?

2) Based on LIDB, is the ANI billable for the phone service (forexample, will the ANI accept a collect call)? The call processor and/orswitch and/or SCP must access several more types of databases:

a) Does the enhanced service provider (IXC) have a billing andcollection agreement with this LEC for this ANI? This would come from adatabase maintained by the enhanced service provider, third party, IXC,etc.

b) Most business, as well as all pay phones have their “ANI” marked as“no collect calls”. This is why an operator or an automated collectservice (such as 1-800-collect) will tell you that the number you arecalling will not accept “collect calls”. The collect call service(automated or live operator) will check the actual LEC database (usuallythrough the use of LIDB) and will receive an automated response codeback that the “ANI” in question will not accept “collect calls”.

c) Has the ANI, LEC calling card, other Bill-to number (credit card),other billing or account number, or grouping of account numbers(household, etc.) exceeded a service provider's velocity threshold for atime period (“X” dollars in “Y” time)?

d) Based on customer preference, prior customer service with a customer,and advanced features with a customer, a customer will not want to payfor this type of service for this time period (for example: no collectcalls between midnight and 6:00 A.M.).

e) LIDB may also be used to validate a LEC calling card. LIDB provideson-line access to the calling card a LEC assigns to a POTS number. Whenyou are away from your phone—you can bill calls to your (home) phonethrough use of your LEC calling card number. One of the means forvalidating this calling card number is through the on-line use of LIDB.For example: at a pay phone, if you wish to bill a phone call to yourLEC calling card, the calling card you would enter at the pay phonewould usually be validated through LIDB.

Future use of LIDB—one of the planned possible future uses of LIDB iswho is “your local LEC”. With the possibility of local numberportability, LIDB could be used to determine who the local LEC is, tothen determine who to route the call to for the last mile so the phonewill ring.

ANI and Dialed Number part of billing: the billing and reportingfunction of telephone calls (such as MCI's “Friends and Family”) revolvearound databases, restrictions, rates, and relationships of data ($dollars spent in a time period such as AT&T's “True Rewards”). Billingdatabases, usage, access, and restrictions have been part of the phonenetwork since before the AT&T break up in 1984.

Prior Knowledge: prior knowledge is provided by ANI, for example, as it:

a) Relates to billing and/or usage:

i) Call velocity—the past number of calls over different periods of time(current day, week, month, 45 days, year, etc.):

ii) Dollars billed and billing velocity—the amount of billingtransactions and dollars billed by the biller and/or service provider,bureau over different periods of time to be used to control creditdecisions;

iii) Customer service and satisfaction—services the customer will notpay for or has a tendency to refund and/or the party who is assigned theANI or billing identifier wants blocked.

b) As it relates to prior calls and/or selections:

i) Score or level attained in a program, event, promotion, or severalprograms;

ii) Level of proficiency or approximate knowledge attained based on ANI,Caller Identifier, or real identity (for example—based on SocialSecurity Number).

c) As a method to control entry into the particular program or restrictentry based on prior usage identity and performance.

The present invention brings certain telephone network data and/orswitch data into the field of call processing in unique ways to providea new call processing system and reveals several methods of using suchdata to better serve callers and to provide entities who rely on callersfor business a better means in which to handle those callers. Thepresent invention recognizes deficiencies in the use of calling/billingline number (ANI) to identify a caller and/or call. The use ofcalling/billing line number does not indicate the actual identity of thecaller. Furthermore, the Dialed Number does not always indicate thespecific purpose of the call and the best way to always answer the call.ANI and Dialed Number when used for call processing purposes, canprovide misleading information.

The present invention is a new, unique, and much needed call processingsystem that provides substantial benefits over the traditional use oflimited network data and/or switch data, such as Calling number (callerID and/or ANI), Dialed Number (and/or DNIS), and Equipment type (touchtone, rotary, data). The known, limited network information can lead toless than accurate call limitation, statistical analysis and uniquecaller input format selection. As stated above, known use of telephonenetwork data and/or switch data is very imprecise as to whom is calling.To limit the callers or select caller input templates and caller datarequest selections based on ANI, Dialed Number and/or equipment typewill not give proper representation to businesses, schools, PBX's,and/or hotels with thousands of rooms, or cellular/PCS type 1, forexample, where all 10,000 ANI's are the same and represent the systemnot the mobile ANI. For example, a TV ad offering a free breakfast forFather on Father's Day, shown in Orlando, Fla. would draw hundreds oreven thousands of calls from the same small group of ANIs, in this casehotels. The call processor, using known methods, would be able to gatherlittle valuable information based on ANI in this case.

Businesses, hotels, pay phones, PBX's, college phone systems, and otherlarge gateways must be recognized and taken into account in anystatistical analysis using ANI and Dialed Number as call limiters andcall input selections. Fortunately, using call enhanced network dataand/or switch data such as described herein, will change the callerinput data selection and improve the call prompting and call handling bythe call processing system and, in many cases eliminate or enhance thevalue of ANI.

Enhanced Data Available as Part of the Call Processing of the PresentInvention

II Digits info indicator digits - indicate phone type (pay phone,residence, business, prison, etc.) NPA-NXX LERG Exchange Assignment -use classification for the entire exchange (such as air to groundphones) LIBD Line Information Data Base (ANI for all NANP) caller's nameline restriction line service change of ownership Private Databasebusiness vs. residence street address ZIP code Social Security Number ifresidence Change of Ownership indicates the historical ANI data is nolonger relevant due to change in ownership Line Status based on thein-bound and out-bound lines available, the call handling logic willchange. Call Control based on the resources available to the callprocessor.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is useful in amulti-line, multi-protocol, multi-format, multi-input template callprocessing system. It utilizes the following:

a) Public and Private Phone Network supplied data and/or switchedsupplied data

b) Caller inputted data without prompting;

c) Caller prompted by the call processor to input data (information)—asthe data may be needed one or multiple times which consist of multipledata items using multiple input formats and templates tailored based onstored data, network call information and data inputted;

d) Caller responding to the call processor requests, and inputting dataas needed via touch tone, pulse dial, voice recognition, word spottingand/or voice prints, and electronic data in conjunction with voice (forexample, data over voice, ADSI, etc.);

e) Proper call routing, as required, after the reason for the calland/or identity of the caller has been sufficiently determined;

f) Proper call identification as the call is passed on to the next callhandling location—whether live and/or automated;

g) Access to stored data to control, identify, modify, route, rate, tax,compare and process the current call;

h) Updating stored data to currently (real time) and historically trackwhat transpired, to provide information to other locations who may bestill processing the current call, to provide future treatment of thesame caller(s) or new caller(s) to the same Dialed Number and/or otherDialed Numbers, to aid and provide telephone related services, customerservices, information to customers, to respond to customer queries andthe sale and use of products and services, and other services andproducts and to aid and develop billing and reporting data;

i) To record words, inputs, opinions, feelings, desires, knowledge,experience, and other data from individual callers and/or a selection ofcallers that are processed as part of the call, once and multiple times,during and/or after the call, that could affect the next caller to sameDialed Number or a set of related Dialed Numbers and/or other DialedNumbers, after all the calls over a period of time, (such as astatistical analysis), and on a rolling basis with each sub-set ofcallers to select a further set.

The present invention uses twelve (12) relatively new technologies andconcepts individually and in combination with existing technologies toprovide enhanced call processing. The twelve (12) new technologies foruse in call processing environments, of the present invention, are:

1) II digits—info indicator digits that are now part of the SS7(Signaling System 7) and/or ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)that provides ANI definition and restriction information for each phonecall (see Bellcore documentation for II digits, SS7, and ISDNdocumentation) and define phone type—business, residence, pay phone,institution, local only, etc. for each call.

2) NPA-NXX type (reference LERG, the first 6 digits of all NorthAmerican Numbering Plan (NANP)) defines ANI digits into a fixedclassification (pagers, cellular phone, air to ground, POTS, etc.).

3) ADSI—Analog Display Serial Interface phones—and other data with voiceover the same call (voice/data modems, ISDN, BRI, etc.) where data andvoice coexist at the same time, or different times, over the same voicepath of the call: this allows the call processor to create displays andsoft key(s) on the caller's terminal (PC, ADSI phone, Kiosk, etc.) andto accept voice, soft keys (keys defined for just that display), datainput-keyed data, screen touch data input, touch tone and voicerecognition and voice print inputs; all intermixed at the caller's andcall processor's discretion.

4) Line Information Data Base (LIDB): the local phone company's customerdata base is on line and available for real time access (USA and Canada)to determine

a) Is the ANI valid (turned on);

b) Validate the LEC calling card PIN; and

c) Restricted ANI services (no collect call, for example).

5) Caller's Name—As an implementation of caller ID, the billing name isavailable for the USA and Canada on a real time basis. This is a newspecial feature accessed through LIDB in the January, 1996 time frame.

6) Access to information, public and private databases that are keyed bya code contained in the call data (e.g.—ANI): one existing database hasthe phone type for example—business versus residential for 85–90% of allphones in the USA and Canada, both listed and unlisted, with Zip codeand street address, again on-line and indexed by ANI for 85–90% of theUSA and Canada.

7) Access to information that is keyed to a unique number or referencethat is not a part of ANI—such as Frequent Flyer Number, account number,customer specific keyed such as a ticket number, Social Security Number,credit card number, sweepstakes number, or other unique key for theservice, product or event.

8) Biller's databases by ANI and/or NPA-NXX; whether the call can bebilled by one or more billers.

9) Prior knowledge by ANI and/or other unique identifier such as creditcard number as it:

a) Relates to billing and/or usage:

i) Call velocity—the past number of calls over different periods of time(current day, week, month, 45 days, year, etc.);

ii) Dollars billed and billing velocity—the amount of billingtransactions and dollars billed by the biller and/or service providerbureau over different periods of time to be used to control creditdecisions;

iii) Customer service and satisfaction—services the customer will notpay for or has a tendency to refund and/or the party who is assigned theANI or billing identifier wants blocked;

b) As it relates to prior calls and/or selections:

i) Score or level attained in a program, event, promotion, or severalprograms;

ii) Level of proficiency or approximate knowledge attained based on ANI,Caller Identifier, or real identity (for example—based on SocialSecurity Number).

c) As a method to control entry into the particular program or restrictentry based on prior usage identity and performance.

10) Change of ownership and/or status—using the ANI “Bill To” name(caller ID name): if not available then accessing other commercial BillTo” name and address databases or other information other than LIDB touse as the equivalent to caller's name and storing the “Caller ID” namefor reference.

a) The system can be checked based on a date and/or “last called” usageand/or other frequency triggers to see if the “Bill To” or other storeddata as required has changed for a given ANI. If the “Bill To” (or otherdata) has changed (through LIDB, presentation of the call, etc.),clearing out, resetting and/or modifying prior stored data to a historyfile (if so elected to save) and resetting or modifying the currentstored data to reflect the new “Bill To” (or other data).

11) User-to-user data passed through the IAM (Initial Address Message)of the incoming call: “User-to-user” data is a field in the LAM (up to255 characters long) that can pass additional data about the call withthe presentation of the call.

12) “Line Status” and/or “Call Control” of the Call Processor: in-boundto and out-bound from “line Status” of the call processor is a majorelement in determining the actions of the call processor. As thein-bound lines to the call process reach 100% utilization (i.e. 190lines in use of 200 available (95%) utilization), the call processor maystart refusing, rejecting, and/or shedding in-bound calls based onpriority. The same is true with out-bound lines from the call processorto other devices such as lines to a conference bridge, ACD, live agents,text to speech or other custom platforms, On Net-to-On Net, anotherswitch or network. Based on the almost full status (up to 90+%) or fullor even over-full; the call processor is holding callers in queue inexcess of the capacity of the next destination of the call; the callprocessor may start to reject, refuse or shed in-bound calls based onthe anticipated destination of the calls. Give the in-bound line statusand/or out-bound line status of the call processor plus network dataabout pending calls, the call processor will use the “Line Status”and/or “Call Control” to change the acceptance and processing of calls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A–1B shows a flow chart of one preferred embodiment of a systemfor call processing of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a voice/data call path of an example call using the systemof the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows one preferred embodiment of a call processing architecturefor use with the system of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a second preferred call processing architecture for usewith the system of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a third preferred call processing architecture for use withthe system of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows a call processing network for use with the system of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 shows a more complex call path, as an example of a call that mayincorporate the system of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a chart of equal access conversion by telephone companies,which evidences the broad availability of network data and/or switchdata that is used in the system of the present invention.

The following three Bellcore documents are hereby incorporated byreference herein:

a. Local Exchange Routing Guide, general information, Section 1, pages168–173, Dec. 1, 1995;

b. V&H Coordinates Data, Data Set/File Specifications, pages 1–5, Jan.15, 1996, with Appendix A-1, pages 1–6, Jan. 15, 1996; and

c. Generic Requirements For Call Control Using ISDNUP, GR-317-CORE,Issue 1, February, 1994, Appendix A: SS7 Messages and Appendix B: SS7Parameters.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly FIGS. 1A and 1B, thepresent invention provides superior call processing capabilities basedon the information that flows with the call, such as, II Digits andprior knowledge about the call and/or the caller. Thus, the call isrouted and/or answered more specifically than a generic “Hello”. Oneobjective of the present invention is to greet the caller through theuse of different and multiple scripts and data collection formats basedon as much knowledge as possible, to interact with the caller throughone or more of the following:

1) ADSI (data with voice);

2) Touch tone;

3) Dial pulse;

4) Voice recognition/voice prints;

5) Other audio and/or data inputs; and/or

6) Live agents and/or automated agents to accurately determine from thecaller: the true identity of the caller (e.g. account number, SocialSecurity Number, etc.) to the extent needed or available; and/or thespecific reason, action, service, product or information needed by thecaller for this segment of the call to the extent needed or available;and/or collect other caller input, priority, data, or information thatthe caller can provide through the use of live and/or automated agentsand/or IVR technology and/or data with voice, to the extent needed oravailable.

For example: if a caller calls an Airline's main reservation number:

a) The Dialed Number indicates the main number for reservations for theairline.

b) The NPA-NXX type code for the ANI of the call indicates that thecaller is calling from an air phone.

c) Based on ANI, the Airline's call processing system recognizes,through prior knowledge, that ANI for the air phone is assigned to oneof the Airline's competitor's planes and through checking “change ofownership”, the call processor determines that the ownership of the ANIhas not changed.

Then, instead of the standard greeting for call processing, the call isgiven an appropriate greeting, for example “Dear X Airlines passenger,thanks for calling Y Airlines”, and is assigned an extremely highpriority to get the caller to a live agent by the first ring.

II digits may, as part of the present invention, be considered first intime by the call processor to determine the relevance of other networkdata and/or switch data associated with the call, and based on IIdigits, no other network data and/or switch data may even be relevant.

Given the “Calling Line Type” knowledge provided by II digits, themulti-line, multi-protocol, multi-greeting (customized greetings basedon knowledge) call processing system will provide better and moreaccurate call treatment.

Through the use of the “NXX type” as defined in the LERG, based on theexchange or the first 6 digits of the ANI, special call handling can beprovisioned. For example, maritime and ship to shore phones may berouted directly to an agent, because of the cost per minute to theCaller and the quality of the call and possible lack of touch tonequality; the Caller's desire to keep the call as short as possible,voice quality of the connection, and that the phone and/or boat couldquickly get out of range.

If the application was going to ask the Caller for a phone number tocall the Caller back, due to lack of operators, based on NXX-type thisoption to offer to call back would work best for NXX-type “00” plain oldtelephone service and the call back would not work for NXX-type “16”originating only, since the phone calling could not be called back (suchas a pay phone). The use of exchange classification “NXX-type” in a callprocessing environment provides better call processing to the Caller andthus better service to the Callers.

LIDB is a nationwide (U.S.A.) and Canadian standard to provide POTSnumber validation and POTS number information access. “Caller ID Name”is a service provided by LIDB. In summary, in the past LIDB was used forbilling purposes “that is—can the call be billed to this number, is thenumber in service, will the number accept a collect call, validation ofthe calling card number assigned”. However, the present invention usesLIDB in a call processing program. For example a caller may hear thewords “in order to validate that the ANI you are calling from is yours,please enter the LEC calling card for the ANI you are calling from atthe tone . . . . ” Only a member of a household would likely know theLEC calling card for the household, similar to the 4 digit ATM PIN for acredit card or debit card to again prove knowledge of ownership.

The present invention has incorporated this new LIDB feature into aunique audio-text and/or call processing program. Here are but two (2)examples of embodiments of the present invention:

a) ANI Validation—Asking the Caller to spell the last name of the ownerof the ANI and comparing the spelling given by the Caller to thatspelling provided by LIDB.

b) “Change of Ownership” Somewhere between 20–25% of the ANI's changeownership each year. With one embodiment of the present invention thecall processor determines that the ownership has changed from a priorcall to the current call—through the use of a change in “Caller's Name”(through LIDB and/or equivalent data through other services). The callprocessor collects the “Caller Name” as a condition in the callprocessing flow and stores the LIDB “Caller's Name” as a data elementrelated to the ANI of the Caller (as well as II digits, NXX-type, Callerinputs, date of last call, and other data items as necessary). On asubsequent call, the call processor can again retrieve the “Caller'sName” from LIDB (or the equivalent) and perform an exact comparison tocheck to see if the “Caller's Name” has changed. If the “Caller's Name”has changed, then all the prior stored data that may be ANI related isno longer valid and new ANI specific data will need to be collected fromthe Caller, through use of different input and data collectiontemplates, and/or through use of the IVR, voice recognition, data input,live agent, etc.

Change of ownership does not need to be performed on every call. Changeof ownership is a function of how frequently the Caller calls, what typeof phone line is calling (NXX-type) and the local phone company's policyon re-issuing of phone numbers. Residential and business phone numbersare usually out of service (cooled) for 30 to 90 days before they arere-issued, to inform callers to the cooled or out-of-service ANI thatthe number has changed.

Residential and business ANI's are expected to receive inbound calls,usually more inbound calls than a cellular phone, where the ANI (forvalue of “62 or 63” again based on II digits) represents the Caller. Fortype 1 cellular or II digit code “61” the cellular ANI represents theentire system and the “Caller Name” would be the name of the entiresystem and useless for change of ownership or almost anything else(possibly all 10,000 ANI's assigned to the exchange), so for II digitcode “61” Caller Name would be of no value. Some of the rules that maybe incorporated to check “Caller's Name” through use of LIDB:

a) if cellular and the II digits are “61” then do not check—only thesystem's name is provided;

b) if the Caller has called in the last 7 days or less—do not check“change of name” (do not compare Caller's Name for today with thatstored) because ANI are not usually re-issued in less than 7 days;

c) if the Caller has called before and it has been more than 7 days andless than 30 days and the II digits are not “00”, “01”, or “61” thencheck the Caller's Name for change since it is not a residence orbusiness (again for II=01 and 61 it does not matter); and

d) if the ANI has not called in the last 30 days and the II digits arenot “01” or “61” then check “change of ownership” by comparing names(again for II=01 and 61 it does not matter).

The above 7 day rules for cellular and other phone types (other than“61, 00, 01”) except residential and business (II digit “00”) and the 30day rule for all phones (except “61” and “01” II digits) are reasonablyaccurate based on the current cooling of phone numbers. These ruleswould need to be changed if a given LEC (Local Exchange Carrier) startedto re-issue numbers faster. In that event, the rules would be changed:

a) on an NPA-NXX (exchange basis) based on the exchanges assigned by theLEC's cooling for shorter periods than planned for (614-847-XXXX forexample);

b) based on II digits, that the LEC is re-issuing pay phone (II digit“27”) or cellular (II digits “62” and “63”) numbers faster than thetypical 7 or 30 days;

c) All the rules may be shifted to represent the current cooling periodof the industry;

d) Lastly—every call and/or every call older than 24 hours (or X hours)could be compared for “change of ownership” based on the value ofknowing that the ownership has changed.

The Caller ID “Caller Name” (or bill to name) becomes a great tool foran extremely accurate “change of ownership” indicator. Since 20–25% ofall ANI's (billed to name) change each year—this embodiment of theinvention would provide an accurate indicator as to whether the“Caller's Name” has changed and whether new data, call treatment, callflow and call processing would be required for a new location calling.

Access to public and private databases that use ANI as a key to thedatabase (this is in addition to the LEC's LIDB): TRW, R.R. Donnley, andothers provide on-line and other forms of access to databases that arekeyed by ANI. Some of the on-line databases that are available alsoinclude households with unpublished phone numbers (unlisted) andprovide, for example, the following data:

a) Street address of the ANI 90+% for households 80+% for businesses;

b) 9 digit ZIP Code (ZIP+4), providing a certified postal ZIP for theANI;

c) Whether the ANI is:

-   -   i) Residential,    -   ii) Business at home,    -   iii) Business,    -   iv) Other (pay phone, unknown, etc.);

d) Household income;

e) Length of time the ANI has been assigned to this location (months,years, etc.).

Again, knowing the street address and 9 digit postal ZIP for an ANIand/or a given phone number, as well as the type of phone, in thepresent invention has a major impact on the call treatment. Referringnow to FIG. 6, a block diagram of the primary elements of the telephonenetwork may be used to illustrate the flow of telephone calls throughthe network. Calls originate and terminate at devices or terminals 10such as residential telephones, business telephones, cellulartelephones, personal computers and commercial telephones. Calls arerouted through a number of devices capable of transporting calls beforereaching their destinations. For example, a call placed at a residentialtelephone 10 b may be transported by a switch at the LEC 36 to an IXCswitch 42, to a Network to Network switch 44, to a local IXC switch 42,to a PCS cellular switch 20, and finally, to someone's cellular phone 10s. In another example, a call placed at a business phone 10 f may betransported by the business's PBX 14 to the LEC switch 36, to an IXCswitch 42, to a PCS/Cellular switch 18, and finally, to a cellular phone10 g.

Referring again to FIG. 6, data fields of the telephone call may be reador received and interpreted at a PBX 14, P/C controller 16, switch 12,18, 20, 24, 26, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 48, 50, 52 local or special accessdevices 28, 34, 54, ACD 30, IVR 32, call processor 22 or set box 46.

These devices in the call flow and in the network, are locations wherecall processors could be located to gather the network (or switch data)data, such as II digits and then through means of IVR, user-to-user,caller inputs, caller prompts and other call processing procedures ascovered in FIG. 1, the identity of the calls and the reason for the callcan be collected as needed and/or-available.

The call processor possesses the following facilities and attributes:

1) Serviced by and/or connected to a telephone network(s), whichincludes access to the public network and possible access to privatenetworks as needed. These telephone networks, through connections to oneor more IXC's and LEC's (Interexchange Carriers and Local ExchangeCompanies), allow the calls to be received by a caller dialing an 800number, 888 numbers, pots numbers (614-847-6000), 900 numbers and otherpots and other non-geographic numbers (500-XXX-XXX and 700-XXX-XXXXetc.) and other dialing plans. This access to the public telephonenetwork (and private as needed) allows the call processor to also dialoutbound calls to locations in the same city, same state, anywhere inthe USA and to phone numbers and access codes to access locationsoutside the USA. The private network allows calls to be made to devicesand switches that can not be reached by dialing the same number andcodes over the public network.

Generally speaking, the call processor's access to the telephone network(public or private) data networks, signaling networks and other forms oftransmission allows the call processor to receive, connect to, andaccept inbound calls to the call processor and other devices associatedto or connected with the call processor, and the call processor's accessto the telephone network (public and private) allows the call processorto originate outbound calls and tandem (originate and bridge throughexisting calls, voice and data paths) to other locations on thetelephone network both public and private (as needed).

2) The definition of “network data”: the call processor, through directand indirect connections to the telephone network where the network datais passed through a switch and/or an IVR, and/or other devices, but isstill considered “network data”;

a) Receives signaling information (network data) from the inbound callsthat are presented to the call processor. Some of this networkassociated call data can include:

-   -   i) The dialed number;    -   ii) the II digits (Info-indicator digits);    -   iii) the ANI (automatic numbering identification); and    -   iv) other network data (line, channel, etc.).

Besides receiving network data about elements specific to inbound callsto the call processor, the call processor can receive and control thecall connection, in other words the call acceptance and/or the rejectionof the inbound call without the need for answering the call through useof ISDN and SS7 signaling and other signaling methods available to thecall processor. The call processor receives the IAM (Initial AddressMessage) of the inbound call from SS7 or ISDN; the line seizure and datafor the inband signaling of an inbound call, alert message, disconnectmessage (call has hung up). The call processor can:

-   -   i) reject the inbound call;    -   ii) proceed with the inbound call;    -   iii) answer the inbound call;    -   iv) disconnect the inbound call; and    -   v) interact with other network switches as necessary.

This “network data” includes call states, network status, elements ofthe call (II digits) whether part of the signaling network (SS7, ISDN,etc.), as inband data, MF (multifrequency) data, DTMF data, line seizureor disconnect is all considered “network data”, whether presenteddirectly or indirectly to the call processor (through other devices andnetworks).

To place an outbound call, the call processor must also create “networkdata” and the progress of the outbound call can be monitored, which isalso considered “network data”.

b) Through the same (or different) telephone network connections,including signaling information and data call elements, the callprocessor can also originate a call (place an outbound call) into thetelephone network, this originated call can also be the outbound portionof a call that is being tandemed (or passed through). The call processorcan monitor the progress of the outbound call from answer to a busy(intercept) and even network congestion through the audio path of thecall and through the call progress and call status signaling informationthrough use of SS7 and ISDN. The call processor can control the dialednumber to determine where the outbound call is to go, what networks areused (public and private, telephone and data). The call processor caneven, under certain circumstances:

i) change or provide the ANI data for the outbound call;

ii) select carriers by inserting a carrier code (such as 10288 for AT&T)in the dialed number or by selection of trunk and access lines (onegroup of lines to carrier A, a second group of lines in trunks to IXC B,etc.); and

iii) include data in the user-to-user field of the IAM of the outboundcall.

Summary—the scope of “network data” could be defined as any data thatpasses over the telephone network that defines, describes, controls,routes, maintains, and informs about the call including the call statusat all times. The status of the physical call (pending, ringing, busy),some of the elements that make up the call (II digits, dialed number,ANI, etc.); the status of the call control (call forward or busy,network congestion) and all the other data and call elements of the callare also considered “network data”. All these call components helpdefine, describe, control, route, maintain and inform about calls andcan be considered “network data” whether directly passed to the callprocessor as in FIG. 4 through connections 168, 170, 172, or indirectlypassed to the call processor as in FIG. 3 again over IVR 138 links168,170,172 which the IVR 138 passes to the call processor through links174 and even over private networks again referring to FIG. 3 using datanetwork 140 to pass “network data” from remote location 176 to callprocessor 152.

3) The call processor(s) can have connections to, interface with,control over, and pass data and commands back and forth with manydevices which hereafter will be referred to as “resource data”:

-   -   a) Network switches;    -   b) Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Systems;    -   c) Voice Recognition Devices and Voice Recognition Platforms;    -   d) Private Branch Exchange (PBX's);    -   e) Public Networks;    -   f) Private Networks;    -   g) Automated Call Distributors (ACD);    -   h) Conference Bridges;    -   i) Modem and Data Connections (Internet Access);    -   j) E-mail gateways; and    -   k) Data storage and retrieval (including audio/voice).

Any device, service or platform that uses the telephone network, a datanetwork, electronic information exchange that can be accessed, used,controlled, shared, updated, modified, stored, transmitted, exchanged.All can be accessed by, shared by, and used by a call processor.

In summary, “resource data” is the information (other than network data)that a call processor can receive, request, cause, control, exchange,modify with other devices the call processor can directly and indirectlyaccess, use, update, transmit to, exchange with and interact with.

4) The call processor can consist of a single or multiple computers(with single and multiple control processing units (CPU's) withassociated memory, disk storage, usually a computer operating system(UNIX, Windows-NT, VMS, DOS, etc.) and many control programs thatexecute the static and dynamic logic that makes up the programming of acall processor.

5) The call processor stores data defined as “stored data” in computermemory for fast recall and for quick comparison to other data. The callprocessor will also move data back and forth from computer memory toother storage devices which is also considered “stored data” that canusually store larger amounts of data such as disk drives (optional andmagnetic disks and even tape storage of data).

Many times the disks drives are arranged as mirrored or error correctingarrays, to speed up the retrieval of the data from disk drives back tomain memory, and as a data back up for recover so no data is usuallylost.

The “stored data” can be data values such as numbers (614-847-6161),text such as words, as relational data where a data element is relatedto other data elements such as the phone number “614-847-6161” and thecity “Worthington, Ohio” is related to the “614-847”, as actual recordedcallers voice in a digitized fashion, images, objects, calculations,arrays, and even prompts to callers can be prerecorded again in adigitized form as stored data.

The “stored data” can be accessed and stored as part of the call processsystem, as a shared “stored data” resource between many computers andeven as a remote “stored data” storage or a remote “stored data” servicefacility.

The voice recognition devices also have “stored data” storage in termsof memory, their own custom CPU and usually with load programs for useby the voice recognizers, to load new control programs and to load newwords as “stored data” to be recognized as required.

“Stored data” exists in many forms and places in a call processor; fromdata buffers, controllers, cache memory, computer memory, disk drivesand even tape and optical disk devices.

6) The call processor control over other devices (switch, IVR, PBX) canbe absolute, shared, indirect, loosely coupled, part-time, as needed ornot at all, and the programming will usually reflect the relationship.

This call and caller data collection process is improved by thisinvention, and all the intermediate points shown in the call flowdepicted in FIG. 6 are possible locations or multiple locations.

FIG. 2 of the present invention represents a simplified example of acall flow going through the telephone network. Please refer to FIG. 7for a more complete example of a call flow. FIG. 2 illustrates that thedata portion of the call travels over a separate network as part of SS7,different from older technologies where the call data used to travelwith the call. One of the features of SS7 is the fact that the data andcontrol of the telephone call is on a totally separate data network, theSS7 network, traveling separately from the voice or analog portion ofthe call.

In FIG. 2 a caller 60 lifts the handset on a telephone 62 to initiate aphone call 64 into the telephone network. The LEC (Local ExchangeCarrier) switch 66 realizes that the telephone 62 has gone off hook dueto current flow, and provides a dial tone to the telephone 62 so thatthe caller 60 may initiate his telephone call 64 over the telephonenetwork. The caller 60 proceeds to enter the dialed number on thetelephone 62 and the data is passed as part of the call 64 to the LECswitch 66. After screening the caller entered call data (dialed number),plus assigning the calling number (ANI) and the II digits defining theline type to the line creating the call, the LEC switch 66 determines ifthe call is a local call which can be completed by the local LECnetwork, or if the call should be handed off to an IXC (InterexchangeCarrier) for a long distance call or an intra-LATA call that is to behandled by an IXC. For this example it is assumed that an IXC isinvolved, and that the call will be transported out of the LATA,although it does not have to be, and that the call data will be passedto the IXC for further processing.

The call 64 that was created, and the call's associated informationincluding the dialed number and the number the caller is calling from(ANI) plus other caller data such as the II digits is stored in the LECswitch 66. The LEC switch launches a data element 68 “IAM” (InitialAddress Message that contains the dialed number, II digits, and the(ANI) plus other call data to the IXC, who can be selected on acall-by-call basis. The IXC may be the 1+IXC for this caller, or it maybe an 800 number, 900 number, 500 number or other type of generalpurpose number. For example, for an 800 number the LEC switch 66accesses the SMS 800 data base 112 (this is a simplified diagram) todetermine which carrier will be passed the call detail (IAM) for agateway type call such as a 1-800 call. In this case, the carrier wouldbe selected based on the SMS 800 data base 112 and the call data 68would be sent from the LEC switch 66 to the STP 70 handling the carrier.At some time a voice path 74 for the voice portion of the call will beselected by the LEC switch 66 and will be presented to the carrier'sswitch 76 if the LEC switch 66 is to complete the call or provide voicepath or additional information such as a ring, intercept, and theanswering of the phone call itself, to be passed back over the listen(talk) paths to the Caller 60.

The carrier receives the call data 72 assigns the talk paths 74 andforwards the call data (IAM) on, as call data 78 to an STP 80. The calldata (IAM) 82 may be forwarded to an intermediate carrier or enhancedservice provider 86 (a place where the call can be further processed).The call path 84 is also selected by the IXC 76 to access the enhancedservice point 86. If a call path is not assignable through the network,then the call cannot be completed and a data busy packet will be sentback through the data network to the LEC switch 66 to generate a busysignal to the caller 60. This may occur during any part of the calluntil answered by the enhanced service point 86. In this example, theenhanced service point 86 will issue an off hook answer SS7 messagebased on the caller information contained in the IAM, plus other data.Enhanced service point 86 has in its databases on site 114, plus accessto remote data bases 120. The Enhanced Service Point 86 sends an “offhook” or SS7 answer message which will be sent backwards through data82, through STP 80 and data 78, to the IXC switch 76 to tell the IXC tocut through the call voice path 84 to the enhanced service point 86. TheIXC 76 will pass back through data 72 through STP 70 through data 68 tothe LEC switch 66 that the call 64 will be answered by service point 86and that the local phone company at switch 66 should complete the callvoice path 74 to the IXC 76.

At this point in the answered call, the call path has been establishedusing talk paths (voice/analog channels) 74 and 84 and the enhancedservice point 86 based on II digits and other network data and/or switchdata is now prompting the caller 60 for the caller's account number,social security number, reason for calling, and/or other enhanced data.Once the enhanced service point 86 has determined as needed who iscalling, and as needed why they are calling, the enhanced service pointmay provide the caller information that the enhanced service point hasaccess to, and/or the enhanced service point can route the call to otherlocations using public and private networks, as well as put anyadditional data into an external database 114 as needed, and transferthat data to database 120 as needed, as well as updating theuser-to-user field(s) of the IAM (Initial Address Message) to be sentacross the data network 88 as needed.

For this example, the call is being sent back out over the publicnetwork to reach an agent at home: The call is now ready to be tandemed,or passed on, through the telephone network. The new IAM (with the newand/or modified data) call data is now ready to be presented to thecalled party (or revised called party—agent 118) in data element 88which is passed through the STP 90 to data element 92 to IXC 96. The IXC96 will route the call based on the new dialed number (if changed) andwill carry forward the IAM of the call to pass on to the LEC 106 and/orcalled party as the new called number will designate. The IXC 96 viewsthis call as a tandem call, a call being passed on through the telephonenetwork, and accepts the modified and/or new Dialed Number as well thenew or modified LAM as if it were part of the original call record andhas no knowledge (unless otherwise informed) that anything has beenchanged. The IXC 96 based on the new dialed number, routes the call toLEC 106 and sends the data 98 about the call to the LEC's STP 100 whichcan be forwarded on to the local LEC switch 106 through data 102. Thecall 108 is then presented to the destination location 110. Based on theinvention and the new and/or modified IAM, ANI and/or modified callednumber, the agent 118 knows precisely who is calling, to the extentneeded, based on the data now carried in the IAM, to the agent 118 andaccessed by the agent's work station 116. The agent 118 may have directaccess to the data stored at database 114 and/or the data stored atlocation 120 or any other place in the data network. When the agent 118answers the call, the call is completed from caller 60 through enhancedservice point 86 through voice paths 94, 104, and 108.

For example, referring back to FIG. 2, the enhanced service point 86received an inbound IAM from data 82 that represents an inbound call 84.The enhanced service point 86 saves the incoming IAM data 82 in theinput buffer for the call 84 and answers the call by sending progressand SS7 answer messages back through data 82 through the network to thecallers LEC switch 66. After the enhanced service point 86 has collectedcall data from the caller 60 as needed, the enhanced service point 86takes the saved original incoming LAM data 82 message referenced for thecall 84 and places it into a dial out buffer referenced for the newoutbound call 94 to be created for the voice path of call 94 representedby the outbound IAM data 88 for the call to be sent as data 88. Beforethe outbound IAM is sent on as data 88, the corresponding ANI field ischanged or modified as needed and/or the dialed number is changed ormodified as needed, and data may be placed in the user-to-user elementspace for the outbound call 94 IAM (data 88) as needed. Now that the IAMdata 88 for the outbound call 94 has been modified as needed, the IAMdata 88 for the call 94 is presented as a tandemed call to the IXC 96using data 88, STP 90 and data 92.

FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 refer to different call processing switch, network,and IVR configurations and/or information gathering that will be neededto query the caller to determine who is calling, and why they arecalling so that the data can be placed into the telephone network anddatabase if needed. This new enhanced data can flow through the datanetwork (SS7, ISDN) that describes the call as needed and at the sametime be accessible through the on-line database network. The caller 130could also be serviced and/or transferred to devices such as aconference bridge (228) as part of the call.

In FIG. 3 the caller 130 places a telephone call, which is routedthrough the telephone network 132 to an enhanced service point somewherein the telephone network. The enhanced service point may be located atthe local LEC location or anywhere in the telephone network, and/or maybe located at multiple locations in the telephone network or at thedestination of the original called location. In FIG. 3 an IVR 138(interactive voice response unit) is located before the telephone switch166. The call processing system 152 has access to the telephone network154 using links [158, 160, 162, 164] through IVR 138 and switch 166.

The data from the telephone network 132 is presented to the callprocessing controlled IVR system 138 through multiple possible datalinks. Link 170 would be an SS7 connection, link 168 may be an ISDN datalink (D-Channel), link 172 may be a combination of in band voice anddata over the same line phone lines, and phone lines 134 and 136represent traditional telephone lines usually referred to as B-Channels,with associated data carried over links 168 and 170. The call processingsystem 152 controls the IVR system 138 through links 174 as well as thetelephone switch 166 through links 156. The call processing system 152receives data from the IVR system 138 as well as the telephone switch166. The II digits, Dialed Number, and ANI data, other network dataand/or switch data, and/or database data is evaluated by the callprocessor 152 through the call processor's access to the IVR 138 by datalinks 174. In addition, if the telephone call is not on a phone linethat is convenient to the call processing system 152, the call processor152 through the IVR 138 using the ISDN data link 168 or the SS7 datalink 170, can renegotiate the calls from phone line 134 or phone line136, or to other phone lines, to negotiate “the incoming call” to placeit on a line of its selection based on services that the call processor152 would like to see appear or be offered to the caller 130. Forexample, using channel negotiation, the call may be moved from line 134to line 136.

The call processor 152 preferably is equipped to greet the caller 130using the IVR 138, and may proceed to inquire through touch tone, voicerecognition, automated agent and other mechanisms to determine whoexactly is calling and why they are calling. The call processing system152 can access local databases 150 and remote databases through network140 to validate, acquire and update data as needed. If sufficientinformation cannot be obtained from the caller through an automatedinterface, then the call processor 152 can instruct the IVR 138 to tellthe caller 130 to please hold while the caller is being routed to a liveagent. The call processor 152 can then instruct the IVR 138 to send thecall through phone line 142 using data link 144 to the telephone switch166 using control links 156 and 174 to route the telephone call to anagent located on phone lines 146 to collect additional data. Once theagents at location 146 collect additional data and input it into adatabase 150 through work stations 148 the information will then beaccessible by the call processor 152 which will have access to thisdatabase through data link 140.

The agent 146, which has access through the agent's terminal 148 throughconnection to local databases 150 and remote or other databases overdata network 140 may be able to complete the reason for the call by thecaller 130. The agent 146 may update the local database 150 and remotedatabase over network 140 with updated caller 130 information as needed,and/or the agent 146 may have answered the caller 130 questions asneeded.

The agent 146, can take control of the call from call processor 152, andthe agent can instruct the call processor 152, through the agentterminal 148 to start a new process with the caller 130, similar ordifferent from the original process call processor 152 had started withcaller 130.

The agent 146 can also instruct the call processor 152 through use ofthe agents terminal 148 or by actions such as hanging up to take thecaller 130 back to the IVR 138 to continue the original process orcaller 130 or to start a new process by IVR 138 and call processor 152for caller 130. This sub-process of transferring back and forth betweenthe IVR 138 and the live agent 146 under the controls of the callprocessor 152 and agent 146 can be repeated as many times as needed forthe caller 130.

As a result of information collected by the call processor 152 and/orthe agent 146 and any combination, thereof, the result could also be toroute the caller 130, at this stage of the call, to a device such as aconference bridge 228 over connection 222, or to other locations to bereached over the telephone network. These other locations could be to:

-   -   a) Join a conference;    -   b) talk to other agents at other locations;    -   c) log onto other computers;    -   d) complete a call to a phone anywhere in the world;    -   e) provide a service to the caller 130 using the phone network;    -   f) collect more information from the caller 130; and    -   g) provide other audio services to the caller 130.

As a continuation of this process, it is assumed that the caller 130requires access to a service that can be reached on another location onthe phone network (either public or private).

The call processor 152 has multiple choices as to how to present thecall out to the telephone network. Two of these choices follow:

(a) The call processor 152 can instruct the IVR 138 to drop the phonecall link going to agent 146 over telephone line 142 while holding ontothe caller 130. The call processor 152 instructs the IVR 138 to changethe dialed number and/or the IAM of the new call and initiate a phonecall over data link 162 out into the telephone network 154 using phonelines 164. Telephone network 154 may route the call to remote location176, based on data in the call's IAM. At any point in time the remotelocations 176 can again instruct the call to be transferred, more datato be collected, the call to be re-routed using networks at remotelocation 176 and additional call forwarding or call processing to occuras necessary. The IVR 138 can also instruct the switch 154 to drop thecall that is at location 176 while holding onto the caller 130 and theIVR 138 can initiate a new call, a conference call, prompt the caller130 or any other new call routing, by having the call processor 152initiate a new call through the IVR 138 with new call data (dialednumber and/or IAM) as a new call is presented over data link 162 andphone lines 164 to telephone network 154 without dropping the caller130.

(b) The call processor 152 using data link 156 instructs the telephoneswitch 166 to drop the agent off of link 146 while holding the caller130 at the switch 166 and to instruct the telephone switch 166 toinitiate an out bound call into the phone network 154 using the datalink 158 and the voice paths 160. As in paragraph “a” above, the callwill then be routed over the public telephone network, and/or theprivate telephone network with the current call routing and destinationusing the same or a new dialed number and/or modified or new IAM whichwill carry information that will trigger receipt of the telephone callat a far end destination with special treatment. The additional calldata can be retrieved from call processor 152 as well as the agentdatabase 150 through the data network 140 supporting the remote sites176, 177, remote agents and remote centers with additional call data.When the remote sites and remote agents are finished with the call, thecall can again be forwarded on, taken back while holding onto the caller130 for additional prompting of the caller 130 as needed and forre-routing again by switch 166 or terminated, depending on the needs ofthe caller.

From a comparison of FIG. 4 with FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, it may be recognizedthat when the call processing (ACD, IVR) functions are all integratedinto a centralized switch, under the call processor's control, thetelephone network interfacing may become simpler and call control andcall processing may also become simpler. As shown in FIG. 4, theinteractive IVR systems, the switch, and the call processor may still beseparate functions, which are now integrated and appear as onecontinuous system to the call processor 190 such that the switchingand/or voice processing and data collection are now integrated as oneentity call processor 190.

Referring to FIG. 4, the caller 130 places a telephone call, which isrouted through the telephone network 132, to an enhanced service pointsomewhere in the telephone network. The enhanced service point can belocated at the local LEC location, at a customer's site, or anywhere inthe telephone network, or at multiple locations in the telephonenetwork. For FIG. 4, the call processing system 190 has direct access tothe telephone network 132 and telephone network 154 as well as to thelocal and remote agents 192, as well as indirect access to the agentwork stations 148 and data base 150 through the data network access 140.

The data from the telephone network 132 is presented to the callprocessing system 190 through multiple possible data links. Link 170could be an SS7 connection, link 168 could be an ISDN data link(s) asD-Channels, while link 172 could be a combination of in band data andvoice using the same phone lines. Phone lines 134 and 136 representtraditional telephone lines usually referred to as B-Channels for thosetelephone calls who's associated data is carried over associated links168 and 170. The call processing system 190 controls the IVR functions,which along with the telephone switch, is also integrated into the callprocessing system 190. The II digits, dialed number, and ANI data, plusother network data and/or switch data presented over links 168, 170, 172and/or database data 150 is evaluated by the call processing system 190,and in addition, if the telephone call is not on a phone line convenientfor the call processing system, the call processing system through itsdata link connections 168 and/or 170, can renegotiate the calls fromphone line 134 or phone line 136 to other phone lines to place the callon a line that is selected based on services that the call processor 190determines from information received from the call and/or the callershould appear or be offered to the caller. For example, using channelnegotiation, the caller 130 is moved from line 134 to line 136. The callprocessor 190 greets the caller using the integrated IVR as part of thecall processor and proceeds to inquire through touch tone, voicerecognition, automated agents and/or other known mechanisms to determinewho exactly is calling and why they are calling, as necessary. Ifsufficient information cannot be obtained from the caller through anautomated interface, than the call processor 190 can route the callsthrough the integrated ACD which is also part of the call processor 190.While placing the caller 130 on hold, the caller may be routed to a liveagent that can be local and/or remote through live agent lines 192.

Once the agents at location 192 collect additional data and input itinto the database 150 through work station connections 148, theinformation will then be accessible by the call processor 190 which willhave access to this data through the database connection 140.

Just as in the previous reference to FIG. 3, the call processor 190 canprovide information to the caller, and/or caller information from thecaller and/or proceed to process the caller 130 as needed, if all theresources needed by caller 130 are available to call processor 190.

Call processor 190 can provide data and/or information from database 150and data from other databases accessed over data network 140 to caller130 and the call processor 190; through information supplied by caller130, agents 192 and other sources and computations can update database150 and other databases over access by data network 140.

The call processor 190 through the integrated IVR and access of otherresources and agents 192 can interact and supply the caller 130 based onthe resources available to call processor 190. The call processor 190can transfer the caller 130 to the internet services 230 over connection224 if needed.

In some cases, all the services needed by caller 130 may not beavailable to call processor 190 or for economic, resources available andother resources, the caller 130 may need to be transferred to anotherlocation using the telephone network. This again can be accomplished bycall processor 190 as shown in FIG. 4 as follows:

The call processor 190 has multiple choices as to how to present thecall to the telephone network 154 using data links 162 and phone lines164. The call processor can now change and/or modify the dialed numberas needed and/or change and/or modify the IAM for the new call asneeded, as well as place additional data in the call processor'sdatabase as well as other database(s) 150 and other databases using datanetwork connection 140. The call processor 190 can also place anyadditional information necessary in the user-to-user IAM (InitialAddress Message) of the telephone call to initiate out into thetelephone network 154.

The call is now ready to be tandemed, or passed on, through thetelephone network 154, (note telephone network 154 could just as well betelephone network 132) and the new IAM (Initial Address Message with thenew and or modified data) call data is now presented to the telephonenetwork 154 through data link 162 with the audio portion using phonelines 164 (note the call could just as well been sent out to telephonenetwork 132 to access remote site 177 instead of telephone network 154).The telephone network 154 (and/or 132) can view this call data as atandem call, or a call being passed on through the telephone network,and accepts the modified and/or new dialed number as well as themodified and/or new IAM of the new call as if they were part of theoriginal call record and the telephone network 154. (and/or 132) has noknowledge (unless otherwise necessary) that anything has been changed.Any one or more remote locations 176, 179, 177 will receive the call andanswer the call according to the modified information that is beingpresented to the remote location. Upon the completion of the processingof the call, the remote location can:

-   -   (a) terminate the call;    -   (b) transfer the call to another location and provide the same        dialed number and/or IAM modification and/or any other data        modification as needed, update database information as well as        database updates to the call processor's data and other remote        databases 150 using data network 140 as needed; or    -   (c) transfer back to the call processor 190 using the data        network 140, that the remote location (176, 177, 179, etc.)        would like the call processor to take the call back while not        dropping the caller 130 and process the call further to other        remote locations and/or other locations and functions available        to the caller 130 through the public telephone network and the        private telephone network.

The call processor 190 may drop the telephone call link going out overline 164 using telephone network 154 while still maintaining theconnection to the caller 130 through the telephone network 132 throughthe call processor 190 without impacting or affecting the caller 130.This allows the call processor to

(a) collect more data;

(b) interact with the caller using the integrated IVR and agents 192 asneeded;

(c) use existing and currently collected data stored at locations 190,150, 176, 177, 179 and elsewhere through data link 140; and/or

(d) modify the dialed number and/or call data of the call again asneeded, and if additional remotes locations are needed then launchingsuccessive telephone calls into telephone network 154 using phone lines164 and data link 162 and/or into telephone network 132 using phonelines 134, 136 with data links 168, 170. This process can be repeateduntil all of the reasons for the call have been satisfied. All of thedata will then be available through single and multiple databases 150and others accessed through data network 140 and/or databases managed bythe call processor 190, for final billing and/or reporting as needed.

In FIG. 5, the call processor 152 which is controlling the telephoneswitch 200 through data lines 208 is connected to the IVR 210 which isnow located after the telephone switch 200. In addition, FIG. 5 showsremote and local agents 212 who are hanging directly off of the IVR 210,in addition to the traditional agents 216 who are hanging off of the ACDswitch 200 through lines 192. FIG. 5 also shows voice with in band data206 being transferred between telephone switch and ACD 200 and the IVR210 (which is in addition to the in band data with voice between thetelephone network 132 over link 172 to the telephone switch and ACD 200,which is common to both FIGS. 3 and 4 as well). All the functionalitiesprovided through FIGS. 3 and 4 are also accomplished in the embodimentshown in FIG. 5 with the call processing 152 through the data links 208managing the switch 200 as well as the IVR 210 being located behind theswitch and being managed by the call processor 152 through data links214.

The caller 130 places a telephone call which is routed through thetelephone network 132 to one or more enhanced service points atpredetermined location(s) in the telephone network. The enhanced servicepoints can be located at the local LEC location or anywhere in thetelephone network, at a customer's location, or at multiple locations inthe telephone network. For FIG. 5, the IVR 210 is located after theswitch 200, and both the switch 200 through data lines 208 and the IVR210 through data lines 214 are preferably being controlled by the samecall processor 152 directly and/or indirectly.

The data from the telephone network 132 is presented to the callprocessing system 152 through use of the switch 200 passing on data andcontrol to the call processor through data link 208. For the switch,link 170 may be an SS7 connection, link 168 may be an ISDN data linkwith D-Channels, and link 172 may be a combination of in band data andvoice over the same phone lines. Phone lines 134 and 136 representtraditional telephone lines usually referred to as B-Channels for thosetelephone calls whose associated data is carried over links 168 and 170.The data is captured by the telephone switch 200 and passed on to thecall processing system 152 through the data link 208. The II digits,dialed number, and ANI plus other network data and/or switch data and/ordatabase(s) through access by data network 140 plus database(s) 150 areevaluated by the call processing system 152. If the telephone call isnot on a phone line convenient for the call processing system 152, thecall processing system 152, through the connection 208 to the telephoneswitch 200, can cause the telephone switch to renegotiate the properlocation of the call on the proper phone lines, giving the best serviceto the caller.

The call processor 152 then initiates a telephone call using switchcontrol links 208 between the switch 200 and the IVR 210 using datalinks 204, 144 or 206 with associated phone lines 202, 142 or 206 suchthat the call is presented to the IVR 210 for greeting. Now that thecaller 130 has been forwarded all the way through to the IVR 210, thecall processor 152 may instruct the IVR 210 to greet the caller usingthe IVR as part of the call processor's functions and can then proceedto inquire through touch tone, voice recognition, automated agentsand/or other mechanisms to determine who exactly is calling, and whythey are calling as necessary.

If sufficient information cannot be obtained from the caller through anautomated interface then the call processor can route the caller throughto the integrated IVR agents 212, which can be both remote and/or local,and/or the IVR under the control of the call processor 152 can link backthrough to the switch 200 using data lines 204, 144 and/or 206 andbridge the voice path back to the switch using phone lines 202, 142,and/or 206 to reach integrated 20 agents 216 hanging off of switch 200using lines 192. In either case, the IVR 210, using its directlyattached IVR agents 212 or its indirectly attached IVR agents 216accessed through the switch 200, gets the caller 130 to a live agent.

Once the agents at location 212 and/or 216 collect additional data andinput it into the database 150 through work station connections 148, theinformation will then be accessible by the call processor 152 which willhave access to this data through the database connection 140.

Just as in the previous reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 before, for FIG. 5,the call processor 152 through use of the IVR 210 and/or the agent 212and/or the agents 216 through access to databases 153 and 150 and otherdatabases accessed through data network 140 can provide information andservice to the caller 130, collect and store information from the caller130 and the call processor 152 can continue to interact (as needed) withthe caller 130 and delivers services to caller 130 and updateinformation and/or direct the caller to agents 212 and 216 and otherdevices available through IVR 210 and/or other devices connected toswitch 200 (such as a conference bridge 228 or other services 232) orfeatures available in switch 200 or connected to switch 200. The callprocessor 152 under its program control and/or under the control ofagents 212 and agents 216 can change, end, or initiate new process forcaller 130 as needed or required.

If as part of the existing, modified, or a new process, the call process152 needs to connect the caller 130 to the telephone network (forexample—to complete a phone call to a party at their home or office) toreach other resources on the telephone network, it could be accomplishedas follows:

The call processor 152 has multiple choices as to how to present thecall to the telephone network 154 using data links 162 and phone lines164 and/or to the telephone network 132 using data links 168, 170 andvoice links 134, 136. The call processor 152 can now change and/ormodify the dialed number as needed and/or change and/or modify the IAMof the new call as needed as well as place additional data in the callprocessor's database 153 as well as data base 150. The call processor152 may also place any additional information necessary in theuser-to-user IAM (Initial Address Message) of the telephone call beforeinitiating the call into the telephone network 154 (and/or 132).

The call is now ready to be tandemed, or passed on, through thetelephone network 154, and the new IAM (Initial Address Message with theupdated and or modified data) call data is now presented to thetelephone network through data link 162 with the audio portion usingphone lines 164. The telephone network views this call data as a tandemcall, or a call being passed on through the telephone network, andaccepts the modified and/or new dialed number as well as the modifiedand/or new IAM data as if they were part of the original call record.The telephone network 154 does not have to have knowledge that anythinghas been changed but such knowledge could be provided to the telephonenetwork, if requested or if otherwise needed. The-remote location 176(and/or 177) will receive the call and answer the call according to themodified information that is being presented to the remote location.Once the call has been answered (or before if necessary) at the remotelocation 176, the call processor 152 will need to bridge the caller 130through the switch 200 dropping the IVR 210 out of the call withoutdropping the caller 130. The caller 130 is now connected from network132 using lines 134, 136 or 172 to the switch 200 to network 154 usinglines 164 to reach location 176. Upon the completion of the processingof the call at location 176, the remote location 176 can:

-   -   (a) terminate the call;    -   (b) transfer the call to another location and provide the same        dialed number and/or ANI modification and/or any other data        modification as needed, update database information at location        176 as well as database updates to the call processor's data 153        and other databases 150 and other databases as needed using data        network 140; or    -   (c) transfer back to the call processor 152 control using the        data network 140, that the remote location 176 would like the        call processor 152 to take the call back while not dropping the        caller 130 and process the call further to other remote        locations such as 177 using network 132 and/or other functions        available to the caller through the public telephone network and        the private telephone network.

The call processor 152 can drop the telephone call link going out overline 164 using telephone network 154 while still maintaining theconnection to the caller 130 through the telephone switch 200 and thenetwork 132, without impacting the caller 130. This allows the callprocessor 152 to reconnect the caller 130 to the IVR 210 from the switch200 over phone lines 202, 142, or 206 to again query the caller to:

-   -   (a) collect more data;    -   (b) use existing and currently collected data stored at        locations 150, 153, 176 and elsewhere through data link 140;    -   (c) modify the dialed number and/or stored data of the call        again as needed;    -   (d) have live agents 212 and/or agents 216 interact with the        caller 130 as needed; and    -   (e) change and/or modify or switch the caller 130 to a new        process.

And as needed, call processor 152 can launch successive telephone callsinto telephone network 154 and/or 132 and bridging the call throughswitch 200, the process of data collection and modification and caller130 interaction, caller 130 access to services and information can berepeated until all of the reasons for the call have been satisfied. Allof the call data will then be available through single and multipledatabases on data network 140 and/or databases 153 managed by the callprocessor 152 for final billing and/or reporting as needed.

Many of the components described in FIGS. 2–6 are commerciallyavailable. The telephone network switches 132, 154 may be, for example,an AT&T 4E or a Northern Telecom DMS 250. IVR's are available fromPeriphonics Corporation, while AT&T also makes an IVR known asConversant. Harris and Summa4 make telephone switches with ACD 200.Several remote switches such as the AT&T G3 are available. Several callprocessors 152 are available, such as Sun Microsystems Sparc 20, DEC'sAlpha Computer and the Intel Pentium, to name just a few examples ofcall processors. Several database products 150, 153 are available, forexample, Oracle and Sybase. The previously mentioned products andcompanies are generally widely known and available.

FIG. 6 shows various examples of call processing environments, in whichthe present invention may be incorporated.

The following are examples of uses of the invention:

EXAMPLES Example #1

Electronic transcription for 80–90% of the Callers. A Caller dials anumber (800, POTS, etc.) to request literature on a product (orService). The program describes the product and the literature that isto be sent and then asks the Caller to first speak (and/or touch tone)the 10 digit phone number to where the literature that describes theproduct is to be mailed (sent). The program accesses the street addressdatabase by ANI to see if the street address is already known andwhether the address is residential, business at home, or commercial.

Assume a business at home address is returned by the database:

The program would explain to the Caller that it believes it already hasthe address for the number given, and if the Caller would confirm thestreet number, i.e. the Caller's street number is “1190” yes/no and theCaller's ZIP Code is “43081” yes/no. Since the database has over 90% ofthe residential addresses and business at home addresses for ANI's, ifthe Caller confirms the address and ZIP, then no further input would beneeded from the Caller (except name if the literature was to alsoinclude the Caller's name).

For Example #1 above; if the literature is addressed to “Requester orOccupant” then for 80–90% of the Callers, the electronic record would becomplete to the extent necessary for mailing and the call could end inless than 45–60 seconds, and the electronic record could be part of amailing batch that could go out that night.

Example #2

Similar to Example #1 above, assume that the number given is aresidential phone number which is looked up and confirmed by the Caller,but additional information is asked from the Caller, such as a marketingsurvey (where ad was seen, quality of ad, first time product everconsidered) and other responses are collected. These responses may bethrough key word voice recognition, touch tone input, and/or wordsspoken by the Caller that are later transcribed. For the data typeresponse such as touch tone and/or voice recognition, this data is addedto the already stored name and address data for this call which isalready in electronic form. The use of the ANI keyed database and theconfirmation of the data saves the Caller time in responding toquestions to collect data that is available from an ANI keyed database.

In Example #2 above, assume that some of the data collected from theCaller was collected as spoken audio in the Caller's voice. In addition,the spoken voice may be transcribed to convert the spoken voice into adata format to append to the data portion of the call collected by thecall processor. If the Caller did not give a specific account number orID number (such as a Social Security Number) to use as a reference,(“unique key”) then the unique record number the system would assign tothe computer formatted data may be used as the “unique key” dataidentifier to the recorded audio to be transcribed with the balance ofthe Caller's recorded voice. In this manner, when the Caller's datawhich was left in the caller's voice was transcribed to convert theCaller's name, and other data left in the Caller's voice as responses toquestions, the addition of the “unique key” as part of the recordedvoice would allow the transcribed data to be merged with the machinecollected data (touch tone, voice recognition, number dialed, II digits,NXX-type, retrieved from ANI data base, etc.) to generate a morecomplete record representing the Caller's data as needed.

Example #3

The phone number supplied by the Caller is retrieved by the ANI keyeddatabase as a business, or is not found in the database, or the Callerrejects the address retrieved by the database—in these cases the phonenumber given would be treated just as data and the Caller would need toprovide all data (i.e. name, address, city, state, ZIP) plus any otherdata to be collected. This data may be recorded in the Caller's voicefor later transcription in combination with data collected by the callprocessor through touch tone input, voice recognition, etc., and thedifferent data sets may again be linked using a “unique key” describedin Example #2 above, or the call may be transferred to a live agentwhich would ask, and may on-line transcribe and summarize, the Caller'sinputs.

For many databases, the Caller's ANI (or the Calling Number) is not thesignificant data item. For many applications, knowing the true Calleridentifier and then validating this number is of major importance. Thegoal is to find out who is calling and why.

To identify the who, many of the following “unique key” numbers arerequested as part of the call processing data gathering function, sometypes of the “unique key” numbers are:

-   -   a) Voice Mail Box Numbers;    -   b) Frequent Flyer Number—unique for the airline you called;    -   c) Social Security Number—unique to only one person;    -   d) Credit Card Number—unique to the Card Holder;    -   e) Electric Utility Account Number—unique for a given utility;    -   f) Serial Number of a Product or License;    -   g) Ticket Number or a Sweepstakes Entry Number.

In many applications, once the “unique key” for the application(company, service, product, etc.) is learned (and confirmed if needed)then the exact customer, person, product, ticket, and/or item is learnedas a function of the “unique key”. The “unique key” could represent asub-set and/or a group of people, such as an investment club, and/or theindividual investors themselves. For many call processing applications,obtaining the “unique key” usually identifies who is calling to theextent needed, and in some cases the “unique key” may provide theinformation the Caller seeks.

Example #4

A college desires to automate the application process, so a “unique key”is assigned to every application the college gives out including a phonenumber for the Caller to use to check the status of the application. TheCaller (applicant) can call as often as the applicant desires and entersthe “unique key” for the application to the college. The call processorcollects network statistics such as II digits, unique key, and NPA-NXXtype for later analysis and contains a database of all knownapplications by “unique key” and the application's current status. Someof the responses a Caller might hear are:

a) Application not yet received;

b) Application received—but can not be processed—applicant has beenmailed a request for more information;

c) Application accepted, applicant must accept position and securefinancing—package has been mailed to applicant;

d) Applicant is 112th on the waiting list—4% chance of gainingadmission; and

e) Application rejected—best wishes.

For the above call processing example, the “unique key” not only definedthe applicant but also reported the current status. This was only anexample—many more applicant conditions could easily be added to theexample.

Example #5

The Caller calls a rental car customer service number and the car rentalcompany call processor inquires for a contract number or a customernumber. If the Caller enters a contract number, the car rental company'scall processor will change the questions it asks, since it has nowidentified a car that is out on rental and who the car was rented to.The knowledge of the “unique key” changes the call processor's datacollection flow.

Example #6

Accessing information based on a “unique key” changes the whole dynamicsof the call processing model. The “unique key” can define who is callingas needed and even some of the reasons as to why they are calling. In anearlier example, the unique key was the Dialed Number. For those thatcall 614-645-GOLD (614-645-4653) the Dialed Number represents the dataand the unique key for the caller.

In summary, the “unique key” to the application can be far ranging, itcan represent the Caller (Social Security Number, etc.), a transactionwith the Caller (ticket, contract, application, etc.) and/or a subset ofthe Caller (all the Gold trash designated residences in Columbus, Ohio).

Caller ID—LIDB was used to cause the call processor to change data inputformats based on change of ownership. This is but one way to detectchange of ownership which will then change the data input formats. Othermethods to detect change in ownership are as follows:

1) Caller fails to enter a unique key data item such as the customeraccount number.

2) Other data bases are accessed to check stored data with current data.

a) Vehicle number does not exist in this state.

b) Street address on file for this ANI has changed.

c) Other data items and data bases.

3) Caller identifies themselves as new to the system, call processor, orapplication.

4) Change in the data base information indicates that the caller'sstatus, limits, or no longer allows, this function. For example:

a) International calls no longer allowed.

b) Caller no longer has access to a weather or stock service that isavailable to other callers.

Change of ownership or status is critical to the call processing, theoptions and services offered the caller, and the caller data formatoffered the caller.

Example #7

Based on the fact that the caller is no longer a platinum member of theFrequent Flyer club, the call handling, priority, and options offeredthe caller will be greatly changed.

Example #8

The user-to user field of the Initial Address Message (IAM) of a callcan be used under ISDN and SS7 to transfer data information from onecall location to another. The use of this user-to-user data field allowsone calling party to expedite and completely change or enhance the callprocessing function. If a user on a PC using an ISDN line initiates acall through the PC and all the call processing requirements have beenpre-loaded (or partially loaded) so that a data-gram in the user-to-userdata fields is carrying some or all of the following information:

-   -   who is calling    -   what does the caller want    -   authentication    -   call routing,        The call processor would validate the data in the call        user-to-user data field as needed and process the call for the        caller with little or no additional input from the caller.

A good example is where a log-on script is stored in a PC to dial to,and log on, a data network and then access the E-Mail account and thenup load all new E-Mail to be sent, and down load all new E-Mail to beread, and then force the system to hang up when the E-Mail has been downloaded. This could also be accomplished in the user-to-user data fieldof the initial call to the network and no other data would need to besent to define who is calling and why they are calling.

Line status: the call processor should normally not be allowed to reacha status of all in-bound lines busy. Once a call processor, or anydevice on the SS7, ISDN, or digital access interface, reaches a statusof all lines busy, the network will no longer present calls to thatlocation, since that location can no longer accept the calls.

Another way of stating this concept is: the call processor must have asmall percent of in-bound lines that are reserved for high prioritycalls, so that even when the in-bound utilization reaches 90–95%, a highpriority call can still be received.

In-bound calls and in-bound applications can be assigned a priority,such that the call processor will reject new calls as presented when thecall processor gets progressively busier. For example, after thein-bound reaches 85%, a call to this location may be rejected since thatin-bound call may be re-routed on a busy using an AT&T network featuresuch as Alternate Destination Routing (ADR) and the call will just berouted to an alternate destination if ADR is a feature of the call whenit is electronically refused at this location.

The call processor, over data channels with the network (SS7 and ISDN),can easily reject 50 calls a second per data channel. This allows thecall processor to reject up to 180,000 calls per hour per data channel.If the call processor keeps some in-bound lines open by rejecting thecalls, then the network will continue to present calls to the callprocessor in an attempt to utilize the still open lines which allows thecall processor to be selective as to which new calls to answer. On theother hand, if all in-bound lines to the call processor are 100%utilized, (all in use) then the network will not present any new callsto the call processor until a line becomes available, and if only oneline becomes available, then only one call will be presented. As thecall processor fills up, calls need to be shed or rejected based on:

a) Priority of the calls based on network information and/or switchinformation (Info Indicator digits, Dialed Number, ANI);

b) Advanced features of the network based on the Dialed Number—call willroute to another site (ADR);

c) A list of priority calls (II digits, Dialed Number, ANI, etc.) thatmust get through while blocking other calls at certain levels ofutilization based on certain rules;

d) Reject calls, because enhanced features, such as text to speech orword spotting, is over utilized in the call processor and the callprocessor would be tying up an in-bound port that would later failbecause of current utilization of a feature;

e) Reject calls, based on network and data base data, because theanticipated routing to be needed to other services by the call processoris not, or likely, will not be available. For example, all conferenceports are currently full and the queue for conference ports is at thepre-determined maximum;

f) To capture network data and/or switch data once the in-bound portsfill up and/or are assigned to pending in-bound or out-bound calls, thenetwork data will cease or no longer be presented to the call processor.It may become impossible to analyze how many calls where lost and theassociated network data and/or switch data, if the in-bound ports allfill up and then the network data ceases. The value of learning what waslost and when, may exceed the value of answering the few extra calls onthose set-aside lines;

g) To keep channels open for priority calls that must get through. Ifall the in-bound ports are tied up, then a priority in-bound call thatcould be updating the information that other caller's are listening to,must be able to get in to make the information update;

h) To give 100% service to some numbers and some programs. Because ofbusiness, contract, and/or the critical nature of a program or process,the level of desired service to a customer or program may be 100%. Inmany cases, the calls to a call processor are contentious in nature,where multiple numbers, applications, customers, and callers share on acontentious basis a group of trunks and/or lines to a call processingand switching facility. In some instances, the call volume can drive thecall processing facility to over 100% utilization, in which case, randomcallers and calls will get a busy, unless the call busies (rejections)are managed by the call processor on a selective basis. For some calltypes, the goal may be no busies, and this can be achieved in part,through the call processor managing rejection of lower priority calls.

The call processor must also be aware of the resources available to thecall processor, and as those resources become unavailable, the callprocessor could:

a) No longer offer that resource to the caller. For example, if all thevoice recognition or word spotting resources are totally in use, thenthat resource may not be offered to the caller. The input templateoffered the caller could dynamically change, based on the resourcesavailable for that call (live agents not offered because the queue isfull, etc.);

b) The call processor may substitute a different resource because of thefailure or unavailability of a resource. For example, if the callprocessor can not acquire a single spoken digit voice recognizer due toavailability or failure, the voice processor may substitute a continuousspeech recognizer and/or a word spotting recognizer and the inputtemplate and instructions to the caller then would change based on theresource available (even a live agent could be substituted);

c) The queue depth, line utilization, agents in use, ports to aconference bridge, calls using text to speech, and/or any other on handor resource usually available to the call processor through accesslines, switches and the networks that become unavailable or scarce carrimpact the caller input format, and caller prompting, and even theacceptance of the call itself. For example, a courtesy message that “alllines are busy, please call back in 15 minutes” would cause a shift inthe call flow and flatten out a call spike, yet the next caller to thesame number may be greeted and processed based on the dynamic status ofthe call processor and the associated resources available!

Some of the critical “Line Status” and “Call Control” features are:

a) Do not go 100% busy, to be able to continue to collect network dataand/or switch data;

b) Do not go 100% busy, so the critical calls can get through;

c) Do not go 100% busy, so those numbers that need 100% service do notget busied-out by shared usage;

d) Reject calls based on dynamic and static availability of resources;and

e) Change caller input format and caller data prompts based on resourcesavailable and resources not available, as a function of “Line Status”and “Call Control”.

Lastly, through the use of SS7 and ISDN, the port assigned by thenetwork for the planned call becomes available in milliseconds for thenext call. The “busy” the caller hears, is not at the call processorlocation, but earlier in the call flow, usually at one of the LEC SSPswitches or at an IXC origination switch. When the call is rejected byISDN or SS7, the port becomes available in milliseconds for the nextproposed call.

The value of information indicator digits can not be understated, thetype of line and the value of the ANI as defined by the II digits:

a) II digits can validate that the ANI represents the line and isunrestricted (II=00 and II=60 a home or business):

b) That the ANI represents the line, and additional information aboutthe ANI (Line):

-   -   II=27=Coin Phone;    -   II=29=Prison/Inmate Service;    -   II=62=Cellular Phone in home area;    -   II=63=Cellular Phone in roam state;    -   II=67=Restricted line—sent paid not allowed.

c) That the ANI does not represent the line, the II digits invalidatethe ANI:

-   -   II=01=Multi-Party Line;    -   II=02=ANI Failure—ANI must be requested;    -   II=61=ANI is the same for all 10,000=the systems ANI, not the        cell-phone;    -   II=93=Private virtual network phone, ANI may be that of IXC.

d) That the ANI is a Gateway ANI, and that the ANI can representhundreds and thousands of individual callers:

II=06=Hotel/motel and room number not presented;

II=20=PBX and the line number is being sent as the ANI;

II=27=Coin or pay phone;

II=61=ANI is the cellular system's ANI for all 10,000 cellular customersand the ANI is the same for all;

II=70=Private pay phone, a customer owned coin operated pay stationand/or a coin operated pay station, or some other private pay phone.

II digits (a) validate ANI (b) add additional information (c) invalidatethe ANI (d) and inform if the ANI is a gateway ANI verses a line ANI.

Through the nationwide conversion of the local LEC switches to equalaccess (See FIG. 8, FCC report dated Dec. 31, 1994 showing Equal Accessconversion), II digits have become a new, nationwide element of thenetwork knowledge. In the past, for call processing (and the associatedIVR call prompting and call routing) these were only 2 network elements,now with the addition of II digits—there are 3 network elementspresented with each call. The II digits, define, expand, refine,redefine and invalidate the ANI network data and/or switch data forevery call.

-   -   1) Dialed Number (existing);    -   2) ANI (the caller number—billing number);    -   3) II digits that define, redefine and even invalidate the        ANI (2) above.

The present invention includes the concept of using II digits bythemselves and in combination with dialed number and/or ANI for callprocessing.

Example #9

A mail order company “X” desires to separate calls from prisons andinmate services (II digits “29) from the rest of the callers to company“X” 800 customer ordering number. These prison and inmate originatedcalls could need a higher screening by a separate group of operatorsbefore the merchandise is shipped as directed by the inmates. Knowledgeof this group of callers would greatly reduce the loss of goods to thisgroup of callers. Since this group of callers is in a very high riskcategory, the ability to recognize and route, prompt, greet, this groupof callers would be of value to most mail order companies.

Example #10

A company who is conducting a 800 marketing promotion, probably wouldlike to review the demographics of the callers to the promotion. Thisdemographic data usually includes the ANI of the caller. By includingthe II digits in the demographic analysis:

a) Additional knowledge not provided by ANI is gained (pay phone,business phone, PBX, virtual IXC phones, prisons, etc.);

b) Demographic data is excluded from some phones (II=63 cellular phonein roam);

-   -   c) Call frequency by ANI can be adjusted for gateway phone(s)        and invalidate ANI's,    -   II=20=PBX,    -   II=61=Cellular, all 10,000 some ANI,    -   II=02=ANI failure, ANI not valid.

The Caller Analysis and Demographics change significantly by adding theknowledge provided by the II digits and by taking into account how theII digits redefine or nullify the ANI.

The present invention includes the use of II digits (network providedcall data) that is presented with the other call data as part of thenetwork data and/or switch data that identifies a call to a callprocessor, IVR that is part of the call greeting and routing of a callprocessing system, an ACD (automated call distributor) that may routethe caller different based on II digits and other network knowledge, acall switching and call routing system that routes the calls for callhandling, greeting, prioritizing, handling and processing based on IIdigits and other network knowledge (dialed number and/or ANI) and/orother stored and inputted knowledge.

The NPA-NXX type and II digits are useful knowledge for cellular phones.Many cellular phone users are calling from moving vehicles, and in somestates it may be against the law for the driver of the car to have totake their eyes off the road and fumble with the phone (using bothhands) to enter touch tone inputs. Knowing that the caller is callingfrom a cellular phone NPA-NXX type “04” and (II digit codes 61, 62, 63)would discourage requesting the caller for touch tone inputs.

Example #11

The call processor receives a call and checks the call with the BellcoreNPA-NXX (exchange) database to determine NPA-NXX type. After determiningthe phone type to be cellular, the caller is prompted for voicerecognition responses to questions, not touch tone. Based on the factthat the caller is cellular, no touch tone inputs are requested from thecaller, only voice recognition, word spotting (automated) and live agentare used to help the caller.

The NPA-NXX helps define other phone types that are not always availablefrom other network data and/or switch data, such as:

02—Fully dedicated to paging by recognizing the return to phone numberthat a caller left as a pager number, then leaving a touch tone datamessage as part of an automated call back would be appropriate;

04—Fully dedicated to cellular;

06—Maritime;

07—AIR to ground;

10—Called party pays;

16—Originating only;

88—Toll station, ring down.

Again, the present invention uses the NPA-NXX to gather knowledge aboutthe calling party, the party to be called, and/or the party to be calledback.

Example #12

A call processor providing a debit card or calling card application,checks the dialed number and determines that the dialed number is apager. Then the debit card/calling card application program lengthensthe length of a tone usually required to end the call and return thecaller to the calling card menu. This is done to eliminate confusionbetween leaving a message on the pager in tones and the “long touchtone” command to drop the pager (the current out bound call) to returnto the menu of the calling card program to start another call.

In this application, both the use of short duration touch tones and longduration touch tones are supported, where the length of the touch tonechanges or gives a new value to the meaning of the touch tone.

Changes may be made in the construction and operation of the variouselements described herein or in the steps or the sequence of steps ofthe methods described herein without departing from the spirit and thescope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

1. A method of handling a call, wherein the call is made from a certaintype of telephone line by a caller, said method comprising the steps of:providing a device with resources available to said call, the devicebeing operable to receive and analyze information associated with saidcall; receiving said information, including information indicatordigits, associated with said call at said device, wherein theinformation indicator digits indicate the certain type of telephone linefrom which the call has been made; processing said informationassociated with said call, including the information indicator digits;determining the certain type of telephone line from which the call hasbeen made based on the information indicator digits; and handling saidcall in a particular way based on said certain type of telephone linefrom which the call has been made and said processing of saidinformation associated with said call, wherein the act of handling saidcall comprises determining a type of input to be provided by the callerbased on said certain type of telephone line from which the call hasbeen made.
 2. A method of handling a call, wherein the call is made froma certain type of telephone device by a caller at a geographic location,said method comprising steps of: providing a call processor whichreceives information associated with said call; making resourcesavailable to said call, receiving said information associated with saidcall, wherein said information comprises: (i) information indicatordigits associated with said call, wherein the information indicatordigits indicate the certain type of telephone device from which the callhas been made, and (ii) automatic number identification (ANI)information associated with said call; analyzing said informationassociated with said call, including the information indicator digits,wherein the act of analyzing said information comprises determining,based on said information indicator digits, whether the ANI associatedwith said call accurately indicates one or both of: (i) the geographiclocation of the caller, or (ii) the identity of the caller; and handlingsaid call based on said resources available to said call and saidanalyzed information associated with said call.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the information indicator digits indicate that the call hasbeen made from a cellular phone, wherein the method further compriseshandling the call based on the indication that the call has been madefrom a cellular phone.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the informationindicator digits indicate that the call has been made from a cellularphone, wherein the method further comprises handling the call based onthe indication that the call has been made from a cellular phone.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the act of determining a type of input to beprovided by the caller comprises determining whether touch tone input orvoice input is to be provided by the caller based on said certain typeof telephone line from which the call has been made.